December Preview

Like most years, it looks like the past 11 months have all been training for how to see movies in a packed December. I have a week with three locks. I don't even have that many free days.Ugh. I'll find a way to do it though. So many [potentially] great movies.

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12/6

The Lock: Inside Llewyn Davis [Limited]
I'm always on the verge of being a big Coen Brothers but my enjoyment is still largely based on the material. Let's see. New York Folk scene in the 60s. Carey Mulligan. Justin Timeberlake singing. As always, John Goodman. Yeah, I'll think this one's for me.
Odds I'll See It: 85%

In Consideration:

Out of the Furnace - I keep hearing about how good Christian Bale is supposed to be in this but it's always said in a way that sounds like he is good despite the movie. I still haven't seen Crazy Heart, so the director isn't necessarily a draw for me either. It would have to be a slow weekend to get me to see this.
Odds I'll See It: 13%

12/13

The Lock: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Hobbit is still Peter Jackson's Middle Earth, so even after the disappointing first installment, I'm excited to see this. It also helps that many of the more interesting story points from the book are coming up in this one.
Odds I'll See It: 92%

In Consideration:

Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas - I've seen a Madea movie or two now, so I don't carry the same blind hate of these movies I used to. Now, I know I don't care for them, so unless this is a massive departure from the Tyler Perry model, I can't imagine ever seeing this.
Odds I'll See It: 2%

12/20

 

The Lock: Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Ron Burgandy is the high that Will Ferrell has been chasing for nearly a decade with movies like Semi-Pro and Blades of Glory and nothing has been able to match it. It would be foolish for me to expect anything near as good as the original Archorman, but I am a fool and am completely excited to see this.
Odds I'll See It: 99%

The Other Lock: American Hustle
I've accepted that I'm never going to like David O. Russell movies as much as the rest of the world. That's not to say I don't like his movies though. This looks like a best of for his last two movies featuring a cast including Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence and others. It looks funny and cool and I am very curious to see how it all comes together.
Odds I'll See It: 84%

The Third Lock: Saving Mr. Banks
Tom Hanks playing Walt Disney. A movie about getting Mary Poppins made into a movie. I've heard a lot of reviews that sound dismissive because this is a feel good movie that rewrites a lot of what really happened. Frankly, if it's done effectively, then I don't care. I'm all in.
Odds I'll See It: 78%

In Consideration:

Her [Limited] - Spike Jonze is probably the most creative story tellers in cinema right now. I'm pretty sure this story of a man (played by Joaquin Phoenix) who is so cut off from other that he falls in love with his computer will probably hit deep but that's generally worth it when Jonze is the one doing it. Also, stellar supporting cast.
Odds I'll See It: 57%

Walking with Dinosaurs 3D - I'm mostly including this because it's rare that I've heard absolutely nothing about a movie before putting together this list and this movie is one of those rarities. It looks like it is about dinosaurs or something and the tickets will be more expensive, not to mention this is a week with three locks.
Odds I'll See It: < 1%

12/27

The Lock: The Wolf of Wall Street
Scorsese's Catch Me If You Can from the look of it. If nothing else, this will be funny and filled with good performances from actors I like. Do I really need much more than that? There's also the added curiosity factor after this was delayed from mid-November to barely in time for Awards contention late December.
Odds I'll See It: 86%

In Consideration:

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - This had to have one of the best initial trailers of any movie in recent memory. Sadly, it's been fairly downhill from there according to anything I've read about it. I'm actually a big fan of everything Ben Stiller has directed (from Reality Bites to Tropic Thunder), so I'm likely to still give this a chance despite middling reviews.
Odds I'll See It: 52%

Lone Survivor - Pete Berg agreed to direct Battleship in order to get the green-light for this. That alone makes me interested. I'm rooting for this movie to succeed because I like so many of the actors in it and some of them are really in need of a break (Ben Foster, Taylor Kitsch).
Odds I'll See It: 46%

August: Osage County - I don't know. Apparently, this is a super famous play in the theater community. I think I'll have to eventually see it simply due to the number of acting nominations it will receive. It's some sort of dysfunctional family drama and it has Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, and a lot of other people you've heard of before. I believe I heard the ending of the movie has been rewritten since it first premiered. That can't be a good sign.
Odds I'll See It: 33%

Grudge Match - I hate saying it, but I think they used all the best parts in the trailer. The fact that Kevin Hart completely dominates even that despite definitely being a side character to Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone is also a bad sign (you see: if you have to write in a non-lead to make your comedy movie funny, that can't be good). I fully see myself seeing this, but probably not in theaters.
Odds I'll See It: 23%

47 Ronin - Frankly, this looks like The Last Samurai and 300 put in a blender and topped off with Keanu Reeves as the lead. I'm having a hard to seeing how this doesn't flop or at least disappoint. If I start hearing in reviews that it has "breathed new life in the Kung-Fu movie" or "far exceeds the limited expectations for it" I'll give it another look, but this season is looking too crowded.
Odds I'll See It: 17%