Next month’s must-see movies
The Star Wars saga finally comes to an end, but James Croot finds there’s an eclectic mix of other offerings heading for Kiwi cinemas.
The cinematic year will wrap up with a mix of blockbusters, festive fare and awards contenders. For kids, there’s the return of The Addams Family (December 5), this time in animated form, plus former favourite childhood toys Playmobil (December 12) follow Lego into the feature film business, and The Queen’s Corgi
(December 12) sees Dame Julie Walters voice the eponymous monarch.
Returnees from this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival include documentary The Biggest Little Farm (December 5) and Ken Loach’s latest work Sorry We Missed You
(December 26), while Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (December 26) and Vita and Virginia
(December 5) are back after debuting at the recent British Film Festival.
Meanwhile, fans of American drama should check out Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson in The Peanut Butter Falcon (December 26) and Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams in After the Wedding (December 5), a remake of the much-loved 2006 Danish tale of the same name.
However, after checking out the December schedules, Stuff has singled out six movies well worth visiting your local movie theatre for before New Year’s Day.
Cats (December 26)
Dame Judi Dench, James Corden, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Sir Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift and Rebel Wilson join newcomer Francesca Hayward for this big-screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stage musical.
Much has been written already about the film’s furry look, although potential audiences were also initially sceptical about Hugh Jackman’s The
Greatest Showman, which then went on to do huge business.
The Good Liar (December 5)
Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Helen Mirren team up for this crime-thriller based on the 2015 novel of the same name by former New Zealand government security consultant Nicholas Searle.
McKellen plays a career con-artist who meets Mirren’s wealthy widow online and immediately starts planning how to steal her fortune.
Jumanji: The Next Level (December 26)
Dannys Glover and DeVito join the 2017 sequel’s cast for this latest adventure, in which the gang have to re-enter the game after Spencer goes missing.
Expect some avatar surprises and everyone involved is promising more callbacks to the 1995 original movie as well.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (December 19)
The nine-film, 40-year Skywalker saga finally comes to an end, with The Force Awakens’ director JJ Abrams guiding the story to its conclusion.
Naturally, little is known about the plot so far, although the shock return of Ian McDiarmid’s Emperor Palpatine has been mooted in the trailers. What is certain is Billy Dee Williams’ Lando Calrissian is back and newcomers include Keri Russell and Richard E Grant.
The Two Popes (December 13)
Kiwi screenwriter Anthony McCarten’s latest biopic (based on his 2017 play The Pope) focuses on the transition of Catholic Church power from German Pope Benedict XVI to Argentine Cardinal
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the current Pope Francis.
Sir Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce are the actors going headtohead in this Netflix drama, which will then debut on the streaming service on December 20.
Western Stars (December 4)
A cinematic accompaniment to Bruce Springsteen’s latest album. The Boss himself directs this documentary, in which the much-loved musician performs all 13 songs and also muses on the themes of love, loss and loneliness and looks back at his life journey so far.