The Holiday Movie Mix of 2017

By April Walsh, @AprilMWalsh, contributing writer for www.LegendaryWomen.org

If clocks and calendars disappeared and the weather ceased to change, you could always tell what time of year it was by the movies. Late spring and early summer are all about blockbusters, popcorn flicks. It’s the time for the big budget comedies, action, or horror that the studios feel confident about. That’s when most popular franchises release their newest entry, guaranteed an audience between spring break, and colleges and high schools letting out for the summer.

Late summer and late winter, both being times when it’s hard to get a person to leave either the comfort of their A.C. or to brave the icy roads, are “dump months.” It’s when a studio releases films they feel less than confident about. There is the odd sleeper hit, maybe a low-budget indie that the studio execs don’t care much about until it becomes a critical darling, but when I see a big budget action, comedy, or horror released at this time, I often put it on my “wait for DVD” list because, if the studio had faith in it, it would stand up next to the rest in early summer. Then we have the strange mixed bag that is late fall and early winter. It’s a combination of blockbusters, kid-friendly romps, holiday movies, and Oscar bait. This is due to several factors…

Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming, along with their school breaks. Kids’ movies want to sell some toys and Christmas is a guaranteed time to get those dolls, LEGO sets, and action figures to fly off the shelves, provided your movie is any good. The same goes for a good PG-13 blockbuster. The Oscar cut-off is the end of the year and most films want to be close to that line so they are fresh in the minds of Academy voters. Statistically, movies released in November or December take home the Best Picture statue 70 percent of the time. Besides that, summer is festival season and studios can buy rights to those lower-budget indies that resonated with audiences and critics for wider release in the winter and artistic credibility. With all that, we end up with a variety of movies for kids and adults, casual movie-goers and armchair critics, indie-loving hipsters and popcorn-guzzling action fans. So, let’s get into this oddly varied mix.

Obviously, Star Wars: The Last Jedi will be practically printing its own money in December and the hopefully-good Justice League will be a dominating social media in November. But we’ll get to those longer conversations in their respective months and keep this about the other films. Besides, they aren’t the only potential blockbusters in town. The Marvel Cinematic Universe will have its seventeenth film with Thor: Ragnarok (Friday, November 3rd), the third film featuring The God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth), with a side of Bruce Banner AKA The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) when the unlikely pair end up fighting in an arena and teaming up to save Thor’s home-world of Asgard (Tom Hiddlestone and Cate Blanchett also star.) Like most Marvel movies, it should be a pretty good time.

Dan Stevens (left) stars as Charles Dickens and Christopher Plummer (right) stars as Ebenezer Scrooge in director Bharat Nalluri’s THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS, a Bleecker Street release. Credit: Kerry Brown / Bleecker Street

As for family friendly Holiday movies that address the reason for the season, there are very few. The Man Who Invented Christmas (November 3rd) is a semi-historical British drama about Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) and how he created his most iconic characters. Also starring treasured character actors like Christopher Plummer, Jonathon Pryce, and Miriam Margolyes, it’s only a limited release in the US at first, but may do well enough for a wider shot closer to Christmas.

Ruth (Aidy Bryant), Bo (Steven Yeun) an Dave (Keegan-Michael Key) in Sony Pictures Animations’ THE STAR. © 2017 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Sony Pictures Animation's The Star (November 17th) tells the tale of a donkey voiced by Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead) who works at a mill, but yearns for more. On his journey, he meets other animals who help him along the way to ending up a big part of the first Christmas. With voice-assists from Christopher Plummer, Oprah Winfrey, Keegan-Michael Key, Kristen Chenoweth, and other big names, Sony Pictures Animation must be banking on this to earn some good will from movie goers and critics after the lazy, cash-grabbing disaster that was The Emoji Movie. Perhaps they’re hoping adapting The Nativity will earn them some points, but it’s a huge risk, inserting talking animals and slapstick comedy into the birth of Jesus. It remains to be seen whether this will be a heartwarming Christmas tale or a terrible misstep.

Ferdinand (voiced by John Cena) stops and smells the flowers Juan (voiced by Latin music star Juanes) is holding. Credit: Blue Sky Studios. FERDINAND TM & © 2017 TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Slightly more successful than Sony is 20th Century Fox Animation and they’re trying out Ferdinand (December 15th), about a Spanish fighting bull who longs for a gentler life (with the voices of John Cena, Kate Mckinnon, Gina Rodrigues, and more). With the 1936 children’s book it’s based on being very short, who knows how they’re going to stretch this into a full-length film? But it’s certainly going to drum up some talk in Spain, where bull-fighting can be a hotly discussed topic. Previously, Disney had adapted the story into an award-winning short in 1938. And I suppose this film is also competing with Disney, in the form of Pixar. Then again, who isn’t?

Miguel, voiced by Anthony Gonzalez, dancing with Hector (voiced by Gael Garcia Bernal) in Coco.  © Disney/Pixar  

As for Pixar, they’ve got something for us this November 22nd. Like all Pixar films, I can only predict it will delight the kids and make the grown-ups weep without shame. Coco deals with a young Mexican boy, an aspiring guitarist, who idolizes a long-dead musician so much that he breaks into a museum to touch his guitar and finds himself stuck in the invisible plane of the dead, all on Dia De Los Muertos. It’s a shame the timing didn’t work out better, with it coming out three whole weeks after that darkly celebrated day. Still, there will be voice work from Benjamin Bratt, Edward James Olmos, and Cheech Marin, as well as what looks like some gorgeous visuals inspired by the skeletons and day-glo colors of the art that accompanies that holiday. Like most Pixar flicks, it should be great for the whole family. Much like Inside Out helped children understand emotions and the need to be sad sometimes, perhaps Coco will help children dealing with loss with its themes of death, remembrance, and family. If that’s not enough to tempt you, it will be accompanied by a short musical in the Frozen universe — Olaf’s Frozen Adventure.

(l to r) Kevin Hart (Franklin "Moose" Finbar), Karen Gillan (Ruby Roundhouse) Jack Black (Professor Shelly Oberon) and Dwayne Johnson (Dr. Smolder Bravestone) star in JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE. Photo Credit : Frank Masi - ©2016 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.

On December 20th, we have Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle a sort of sequel to the 1995 classic starring Robin Williams. Instead of a board game that causes a jungle to invade your home, they’ve updated the premise to a video game that draws four teens into a treacherous landscape and into the forms of the ready-made jungle explorers — portrayed by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan.  Skirting that line between kid-friendly and teen-friendly is Pitch Perfect 3 (November 22nd), dealing with the Barden Bellas after college, all miserable and terribly-employed and eager for one more show together, this time entertaining the troops with a USO tour.

P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) comes alive with the oddities in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE GREATEST SHOWMAN. Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise

Not to be outdone in the musical department is The Greatest Showman (December 25th) starring Hugh Jackman. Joining him are Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, and Zendaya in a musical imagining of the life of P.T. Barnum. From the trailer, it looks like quite the spectacle.

Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn in A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS. Credit: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle-Motion Picture Artwork ©2017 STX Financing, LLC  

If you get a chance to leave the kids with a sitter, there are plenty of raunchy comedies and violent action flicks to help you cope with that pre-Holiday stress. A Bad Moms Christmas (November 3rd) picks up after last year’s Bad Moms, following our hard-partying trio (Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn) as they deal with the Holiday and their own mothers (Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines). It’s not the only comedy sequel involving parents out there. Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrel will be reprising their roles in Daddy’s Home 2 (November 10th), where we meet their fathers (Mel Gibson and John Lithgow) and holiday hijinks will, we assume, ensue.

Kristen Wiig & Matt Damon in DOWNSIZING.

Another comedy with buzz, along with a sci-fi twist, is Downsizing (November 22nd), starring Matt Damon as a man who joins a growing (or shrinking) movement of people shrunk by scientists and forming their own tiny communities to combat overpopulation. Coming from Alexander Payne (the writer/director of comedies like Election and The Descendants) and with a supporting cast that includes Christoph Waltz, Kristen Wiig, and Margo Martindale, it’s sure to be a biting and incisive microcosm of our own world. If you aren’t in the mood for comedy and just want to see someone shoot some bad guys, there’s always the re-imagined Death Wish (November 22nd) starring Bruce Willis taking over Charles Bronson’s role as a man out for revenge after his wife and daughter are attacked, becoming a local vigilante hero along the bloody way.

Paul Scheer, Seth Rogen and James Franco in THE DISASTER ARTIST. Photo by Justina Mintz, courtesy of A24

One film I’ve been waiting years for is The Disaster Artist (limited release December 1st and wide release December 8th), a dramedy starring James Franco, Seth Rogen, and a star-studded cast of great actors portraying famously terrible actors. You may or may not know of a little independent drama from 2003 called The Room, which inadvertently became the comedy hit of the decade, often called “the Citizen Kane of bad movies.” It truly is a must-see classic, shown in raucous midnight screenings around the world. This film within a film, detailing the beleaguered shoot and based on a bestselling novel of the same name, has already charmed the critics and the festival circuit, boasting a 92 on Rotten Tomatoes. It would be hilarious if this one ended up competing in Oscar season, though it will have its work cut out for it.

Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba in MOLLY’S GAME. Photo Credit: Michael Gibson- Motion Picture Artwork © 2017 STX Financing, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

In the realm of Oscar Bait, one offering is Molly’s Game (November 22nd) starring Jessica Chastain as Molly Bloom, a former Olympic skier who found herself running the game in the world of high stakes poker. With such awards season heavyweights as Chastain herself and Idris Elba, along with Aaron Sorkin writing and directing, it’s definitely a big contender. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (R, November 3rd), a drama/thriller involving a doctor adopting a young teenage boy into his family with violent results. It stars Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Alicia Silverstone, and has done well in festivals so far, winning best screenplay at Cannes. Will it do as well in Oscar season?

Kenneth Branagh stars in Twentieth Century Fox’s MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. Photo Credit: Nicola Dove

Well, the remake of Murder on the Orient Express (November 10th) might have something to say about that. It’s definitely one of Agatha Christie’s most oft-told tales, inspiring three television adaptations and now two feature films. The 1974 adaptation was a huge hit, both critically and commercially, and this one might strike gold again, with a pretty impressive cast. Kenneth Brannagh will be donning Hercule Poirot’s iconic handlebar mustache (but not his rounded belly) with help from Dame Judi Dench, Willem Dafoe, Michelle Pfieffer, and Johnny Depp, among other stellar performers.

Domhnall Gleeson and Will Tilston in the film Goodbye Christopher Robin. Photo by David Appleby. © 2017 Fox Searchlight Pictures

Goodbye Christopher Robin (November 10th) is a British drama starring Domnhall Gleeson (The Revanant, The Harry Potter series) as A.A. Milne and explores his relationship with Christopher Robin, the son that inspired the many adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Also starring Margot Robbie and Ewan Macgregor, it should be interesting and complicated, considering the real Christopher Robin resented the books and the limelight they shone on his life. Another drama involving a young boy is Wonder (November 17th), adapted from an award-winning novel and starring Jacob Tremblay (Room) as a young boy with a facial deformity trying to fit in at a public school. It also stars Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson (as his parents) and Mandy Patinkin. Rated PG, it might be a good film to share with the kids, with its anti-bullying message.

Whatever you might fancy this Holiday season, there are plenty of films to drag the kids, the visiting relations, or just your weary self to.  I’m most excited for Coco, The Disaster Artist, Downsizing, and Murder on the Orient Express. Be sure to visit us on Facebook and let us know which flicks you want to pair with your peppermint pumpkin popcorn (I’m sure that’s a thing somewhere).