Holiday Movie Report Card
December is the month when the Oscar bait comes out, and this year Hollywood has not disappointed in delivering a truly eclectic slate of pictures. Here we give you the run-down on seven must-see films: why they could kill, why they could flop and just how good we expect them to be.
December 3
BLACK SWAN
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The gist: A graceful, innocent Natalie Portman and a sensual, free-spirited Mila Kunis play rival dancers both gunning for the lead role in a stage production of Swan Lake in this surreal psychological thriller.
The good: Director Darren Aronofsky brings the bold, intimate style he toyed with in The Wrestler to what looks like the creepiest ballet movie ever made.
The bad: Is this just Suspiria and Mulholland Drive in a blender?
Recommended if you like: Red Shoes, Repulsion, anything Tchaikovsky-related.
Likely grade: A
December 10
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: ?THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER
The gist: Lucy and Edmund return to Narnia, and together with King Caspian, they sail on a daring adventure to the edge of the world.
The good: A magic-filled exploration of temptation and faith, this action-packed C.S. Lewis children’s novel is far more interesting source material than the lukewarm Prince Caspian.
The bad: Michael Apted still hasn’t proven he can direct a fight scene.
Recommended if you like: Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lion King, the cutesy parts of The Hobbit.
Likely grade: B-
THE TOURIST
The gist: While in Italy mending a broken heart, Johnny Depp’s American tourist meets Angelina Jolie’s alluring foreigner who uses him to mislead the mysterious agents pursuing her former lover.
The good: Original lead Sam Worthington dropped out due to creative differences. Enter the upgrade: Mr. Depp.
The bad: Jolie plays a spy-type super-agent … again.
Recommended if you like: North by Northwest, The Talented Mr. Ripley, People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People.”
Likely grade: B
December 17
TRON: LEGACY
The gist: Twenty-five years after his father disappeared, Sam Flynn goes looking for him and gets sucked into the same deadly computerized universe Jeff Bridges’ Kevin Flynn/Clu has been living in for decades.
The good: This is the first movie since Avatar that demands 3D. Plus, Lost producers have co-written the script to make this sequel about the deeper quest of a son searching for his father.
The bad: Did you see the Lost finale?
Recommended if you like: The Dude, Daft Punk, glow sticks
Likely grade: B
December 22
TRUE GRIT
The gist: In the 1880s, a teen girl enlists the help of a salty, hard-drinking U.S. Marshal and a Texas Ranger to find her father’s killer.
The good: The Coen brothers return to meatier fare after another zany comedic excursion with Burn After Reading and A Serious Man.
The bad: Rarely does a film depend so heavily on the performance of a child actor like this one, and betting that Hailee Steinfeld can hold her own against Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon is a true risk.
Recommended if you like: Unforgiven, No Country for Old Men, eye patches worn by non-pirates.
Likely grade: A-
December 24
SOMEWHERE
The gist: An actor finds himself drifting into oblivion when his estranged 11-year-old daughter re-enters his life.
The good: Director Sofia Coppola makes films about what she knows: rich people in various states of malaise and existential exasperation. Plus, with Phoenix, The Strokes and Bryan Ferry, she has picked another sweet soundtrack.
The bad: Coppola wants this to be Stephen Dorff’s Mickey Rourke-like comeback, but when has he ever carried a film?
Recommended if you like: Lost in Translation, Full Frontal, the Chateau Marmont.
Likely grade: B-
December 31
BLUE VALENTINE
The gist: This indie drama presents the highs and extreme lows of a young couple using a cut-and-paste method, not unlike recent hit (500) Days of Summer.
The good: Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams take the best intimate and improvisational aspects of the mumblecore movement and add their own bold narrative punch to present the real-life challenges of modern marriage.
The bad: Who wants to spend New Year’s watching a marriage disintegrate?
Recommended if you like: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Half Nelson, being single.
Likely grade: B+
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