Five new movies to watch this holiday
Holiday movie roundup
American Hustle
The Players: Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence
The Plot: A smoking-hot Jennifer Lawrence appears with previous onscreen sweetheart Bradley Cooper in director David O. Russell’s (Silver Linings Playbook) latest flick. This political-crime drama finds a brilliant con man (Christian Bale) cheating on his wife (Lawrence) with his partner in crime (Amy Adams). The duo is forced to work for an FBI agent (Cooper) to weed out gangsters and corrupt politicians, in a retro throwback complete with ’70s-era slinky dresses, free- flowing booze, big hair and a soundtrack to rival Almost Famous.
You’ll Love It If You Liked: Boogie Nights
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The Players: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Sean Penn
The Plot: Ben Stiller both stars in and directs this adaptation of James Thurber’s classic short story. Walter (Stiller) is a magazine editor who daydreams about the adventurous life he wishes he could be living — a fantasy world filled with heroism, action and romance. Then he finds himself going on a real-life adventure to track down a missing photo negative with funny woman Kristen Wiig playing Cheryl, the girl of his dreams. This fantastical tale will get both the kids’ and the grown- ups’ imagination firing.
You’ll Love It If You Liked: Stranger Than Fiction
August: Osage County
The Players: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson, Juliette Lewis, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch
The Plot: Hollywood’s biggest names come together in this adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize– winning play. The Weston family reunites in a search for their alcoholic patriarch that ends in a morbid discovery. His wife, Violet (Streep), and daughters (Roberts, Nicholson and Lewis) are left to deal with the aftermath, and with each other. You wouldn’t want to be tangled in the Weston family’s affairs, but you’ll definitely recognize some of your own family dynamics in them.
You’ll Love It If You Liked: The Family Stone
Grudge Match
The Players: Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Kim Basinger
The Plot: Get ready to see Rocky back in the ring. In this comedy, Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro play aging boxers with a bitter rivalry. Thirty years after their legendary fight and subsequent retirements, Henry “Razor” Sharp (Stallone) and Billy “The Kid” McDonnen (De Niro) get ready to rumble again for some easy money and a chance at reliving the glory days. The laughs are balanced with real heart as Henry and Billy unite to take on the haters and show the world they’ve still got it.
You’ll Love It If You Liked: The Bucket List
Labor Day
The Players: Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith, Tobey Maguire
The Plot: There’s major Oscar buzz for Canadian director Jason Reitman’s (Juno) latest film. Thirteen-year-old Henry (Gattlin Griffith) is struggling to care for his reclusive mother, Adele (Kate Winslet). While out shopping on Labour Day weekend, the mother-son duo run into an injured man (Josh Brolin) and bring him home. Soon they realize he is a convicted murderer who has escaped and that they are now being held hostage. What starts out as a kidnapping slowly progresses into some- thing else, as Adele starts to develop romantic feelings for her captor.
You’ll Love It If You Liked: Revolutionary Road
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