Your must-see 2017 holiday movie guide
From The Last Jedi to Darkest Hour, there is something for everyone at the multiplex
There’s a dizzying number of movies hitting the cineplex this holiday season. What should you see? We’re here to help! If you’re finally ready to see the movie of the moment now that the crowds have died down: Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Smart move avoiding the lines. But we’d still recommend you buy your tickets ahead of time if you want to see what director Rian Johnson has cooked up for the latest Star Wars episode. Critics loved it, audiences are split, and now it’s time for you to decide. (Did we mention the porgs?)
If you’ve got kids in tow, and want to laugh along with them: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
The Jumanji reboot stars Duane Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan and Nick Jonas. “I had this awesome Twitter exchange where I told Mark Hamill: ‘Best of luck, just leave our little Jumanji a little room,’ Johnson told Tribune News Service. “He responded that ‘The Force is strong with Jumanji. You’ll be fine.’ ”
If you loved All the President’s Men and wish there was a prequel: The Post.
Steven Spielberg has expertly created a companion piece to the beloved Nixon drama with The Post. Even better, his new film has Meryl Streep playing Washington Post publisher Kay Graham during the fraught era when the Pentagon Papers began to leak. Watching Streep go head to head with her editor, Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), is worth the price of admission.
If you’re not ready to let go of the Barden Bellas: Pitch Perfect 3.
The Bellas are saying goodbye to their franchise in Pitch Perfect 3, which sends Beca (Anna Kendrick), Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), Aubrey (Anna Camp) and Chloe (Brittany Snow) overseas to perform with the USO. It makes no sense when these Millennials start competing for DJ Khaled’s attention, but who needs a believable plot from a globetrotting a cappella comedy?
If Hugh Jackman is your go-to song-and-dance man: The Greatest Showman.
The songwriting team behind La La Land created the music for this P.T. Barnum biopic starring Jackman.
That might be the best thing going for it, according to critics, but sometimes audiences just need to behold a spectacle. Plus, Zendaya and Zac Efron star! What could go wrong?
If you want to see what a cool $10 million buys in Hollywood: All the Money in the World.
You probably read that director Ridley Scott replaced Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer as J. Paul Getty in his new kidnapping drama just a few weeks ago, reshooting all his scenes. (The rest of the cast chipped in for free.)
But you’ll be amazed seeing that Scott actually redid half the movie. Now that’s a Hollywood hat trick.
If you love a rapid-fire drama about the Hollywood elite: Molly’s Game.
Aaron Sorkin makes his directorial debut with this (true life!) story about how a former competitive skier (Jessica Chastain) set up Hollywood’s hottest underground poker game a decade ago. Tobey Maguire and Leonardo Dicaprio were allegedly part of this circle, and it’s a glamorous fall-from-grace tale that pairs Chastain with Idris Elba, who plays her high-powered lawyer.
If you’re curious what Matt Damon looks like bald and tiny: Downsizing.
The movie star gets hilariously miniaturized in Alexander Payne’s latest comedy. Though the film has divided critics, you won’t get over the sequence where Damon goes from Jason Bourne to a dollhouse figure measuring 13 centimetres tall (or Christoph Waltz as a shrunken black market purveyor).
See the social satire for yourself, and get to know Hong Chau, who will be an awards season fixture, thanks to her breakout role.
If you wondered what Guillermo del Toro would do to Beauty and the Beast: The Shape of Water.
This is an adult fairy tale if ever there was one. Del Toro turns the concept of Beauty and the Beast on its head, setting the scene for a voiceless cleaning lady (Sally Hawkins) who works in a 1960s government laboratory to fall for a scaly captured sea creature (Doug Jones).
Most surprising? You’ll likely tear up at the end.
If you aren’t prepared for Daniel Day-Lewis to retire: Phantom Thread.
The three-time Oscar winner marks what he says will be his final role in the midcentury fashion film. Day-Lewis plays Reynolds Woodcock, a tortured British couturier whose latest muse (Vicky Krieps) is determined to become a permanent fixture in his life.
If you’re in the mood for a solid Second World War drama: Darkest Hour. Gary Oldman is favoured to win a best-actor Oscar for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in this film, in which he all but disappears into the role.
Darkest Hour focuses on the harrowing few weeks in 1940 when Britain was torn between fighting or surrendering to Hitler’s marching Nazi machine.