That was one busy November. I saw many, many movies with a very high hit rate. I'm not expecting December to have the overall depth of November, but it still is the month I've been most excited for. I mean, Star Wars, but more on that in a bit.
2015
2014
2013
12/4
Working For It: I'm way more excited for this than I should be. Or maybe not. It has the writer/director of the underrated Halloween classic Trick r' Treat with a Christmas horror movie. That is has TV All Stars like Adam Scott (Parks and Rec.), Allison Tolman (Fargo), Toni Collette (United States of Tara), and David Koechner (everything) is almost beside the point.
Working Against It: Horror and comedy are a tricky balance. Even the best creative forces can falter when given this opportunity.
Interest Level: Higher than I can explain
Working For It: Michael Fassbender is Macbeth and Marion Cotillard is Lady Macbeth. Done.
Working Against It: I'm not a huge fan of Shakespeare and this didn't get the rapturous reviews when it first debuted to give me much reason for excitement.
Interest Level: Slight
12/11
Working For It: Ron Howard tells a Moby Dick story with Thor, Q, Spider-Man, the Scarecrow, and the most annoying character from Fear the Walking Dead. In Ron Howard I trust, especially since he's coming off the surprisingly great Rush with Chris Hemsworth as well.
Working Against It: I can't explain it. This just looks not that interesting. I mean, Pirates of the Carribean without the sense of humor would be pretty dull. Again, I trust Ron Hoaward, but that's the majority of my drive to see it.
Interest Level: Moderate
Working For It: Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carrell, Karen Gillan, Marisa Tomei, Melissa Leo, Max Greenfield all in one movie!
Working Against It: Oof. I really have trouble with this side of Adam McKay's (Writer, director, producer) work. This is about four men who see the '08 financial bubble crash coming and screw the banks over. No thanks. Based on things like The Campaign, there's a smugness that I find annoying. The reviews really have to be transcendent for me to consider this.
Interest Level: Frustratingly low
12/18
Working For It: I've been looking forward to this ever since it was announced. All I can say is that if that cast, those behind the camera people, and this property doesn't excite you, then...I don't know. Look again.
Working Even More For It: There is nothing like an opening day screening of a Star Wars movie. I can't wait.
Interest Level: Highest Imaginable
Working For It: The first three movies have all been watchable. The cast of this one is equally filled with people who I wish had better ways to get a fat paycheck like Tony Hale, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and [still] Jason Lee, not to mention the chipmunk cast.
Working Against It: I really find the Chipmunks annoying to listen too. I am not subjecting myself to seeing this in an environment where I can't mute.
Interest Level: Please, no
Working For It: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (I could stop there) play sisters who decide to throw one last party in their childhood home. Those first five words are entirely why I will see this. Poehler and Fey are two of my comedy gods.
Working Against It: Yes, Jason Moore also directed Pitch Perfect, but that sequel pretty well proved that he wasn't essential to that. While Paula Pell (formerly of SNL and 30 Rock) is a fine writer, I'd feel SO much better about this if it was a Fey/Poehler screenplay. The previews I've seen look fairly pedestrian and it's not like the stars are without blemishes in their filmography.
Interest Level: Suspiciously High
12/25
Working For It: Yeah, a second Will Smith movie in one year. Focus was solid and had some Movie Star Will Smith. Concussion is more about Oscar Nominee Will Smith as he plays Dr. Bennet Omalu, who gained notoriety for his studies on the effects of concussions on football players. I only casually know about that topic, so this would be a great alternative to actually reading a book.
Working Against It: I get a little worried whenever movie stars pick up those Oscar bait-y roles. That's how you get Seven Pounds, which wasn't bad, but you could see the flop sweat as Smith was trying so hard.
Interest Level: Middling
Working For It: It's Will Ferrell (step dad) competing with Mark Wahlberg (actual dad) for Linda Cardellini's kids' affection. Comedy [hopefully] ensues. Ferrell and Wahlberg were a surprisingly entertaining duo in The Other Guys. This could be some stupid fun.
Working Against It: Will Ferrell is determined to find the bottom of my good will well from being in Stranger Than Fiction. Otherwise, why else would he keep signing on to do these interchangeably generic comedy movies? Director Sean Anders doesn't have a sterling history (Horrible Bosses 2, That's My Boy, Sex Drive). I'm fine with letting this one get lost in the holiday shuffle.
Interest Level: Not Much
Working For It: David O. Russell is on quite the hot streak right now (The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle all made over $100 million and raked in Oscar nominations). He's got Jennifer Lawrence back, this time as the sole lead. Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro return too. I honestly don't know much about this - It's something about Lawrence playing a family matriarch across several generations - and it's nearly beside the point. Until Russell has a big miss, there's no reason to turn away.
Working Against It: I haven't loved any David O. Russell movie. They're all fine. That doesn't leave me all that excited to see what this one's about.
Interest Level: Mid to high
Working For It: It's a remake of the Keanu Reeves/Patrick Swayze movie. I don't recognize the lead actors from anything, but the lead woman is Teresa Palmer, who was charming in Warm Bodies.
Working Against It: The original Point Break is a perfect example of a movie that works for reasons that no one quite understands (having Oscar winning director Kathryn Bigelow certainly helps, in hindsight). Remaking that is like doubling down on roulette. It doesn't help that the amount of TV ads I've seen already looks desperate.
Interest Level: I mean...no.
Working For It: Literally all I know about it is that it's an Andrew Haigh movie. He made Weekend and Looking (I don't think he was the showrunner, but he directed and wrote a ton for it as well as produced it). I like both of those things, so it has my attention.
Working Against It: I don't know much about it. That's called a "wildcard".
Interest Level: I'm curious
Working For It: It's a Quentin Tarantino movie with a Quentin Tarantino cast. If you like Quentin Tarantino, you're likely to like this. The trailers for this are certainly distinctive. This tale of a bounty hunter with a prisoner trying to survive his with this group a strangers through a blizzard looks like a sequel to Django Unchained. It looks pretty fun.
Working Against It: I'm not on Tarantino's wave length. I think he's a good director and no one does quite what he does in movies. Perhaps this will be the movie that finally turns me on to him.
Interest Level: As high as it gets to Tarantino
Working For It: It's a gritty frontier drama from the director of Birdman, starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hardy. Sight unseen, I've already called Leo winning the Oscar for this, so I must be pretty high on it. It also helps that this is this is the hundredth movie with Domhnall Gleeson (who I love) in it this year.
Working Against It: While the trailer is good, it doesn't leave me with much of an idea of what to expect. Then again, after Birdman, is there a way to feel prepared for an Inarritu movie.
Interest Level: Blindly High
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