The holiday season isn’t just about light displays and weight gain. It’s also the most wonderful time of the year for moviegoers, as studios unload their award contenders in the hopes that a great performance by Reese Witherspoon in “Wild” or David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr. in “Selma” will stay fresh in the memories of Academy Award voters.
But what should you see over the next six weeks? That’s a tricky question, given that many of these movies have yet to be screened for critics and audiences beyond the small population of festivalgoers. But we can make some educated guesses. Hence our holiday movie superlatives, full of postulations about what you’re likely to get with the buzziest upcoming releases.
Opening dates and ratings may change.
Most likely to start a singalong: “Annie” (Dec. 19, PG)
Five words: “It’s a Hard Knock Life.” You’re humming it already, aren’t you? Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis from “Beasts of the Southern Wild” stars in this remake of the beloved musical. This version features Jamie Foxx as Will Stacks (that’s 2014-speak for Daddy Warbucks), a New York City mayoral candidate who takes in the orphan as a way to butter up his constituents.
Most likely to make you want to learn the lyrics so you can sing along next time: “Into the Woods” (Dec. 25, PG)
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Broadway musical is a complicated and rather dark affair in which the heroes of various fairy tales cross paths in a forest. You can bet this new adaptation, courtesy of Disney, will be both simplified and slightly more family-friendly. Regardless of how you feel about the changes, great music remains – the stage show won the Tony for best original score and best book, after all – and there’s a standout cast that includes Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Johnny Depp and Emily Blunt.
Most likely to be labeled a one-woman tour-de-force: “Wild” (Dec. 5, R).
Reese Witherspoon plays Cheryl Strayed, a woman who takes to the woods for a 1,000-mile solo hike after a personal tragedy, the details of which the audience pieces together during flashbacks. The movie was adapted for the screen by Nick Hornby from Strayed’s memoir and is directed by Oscar nominee Jean-Marc Vallée (“Dallas Buyers Club”). Speaking of Oscars, Witherspoon’s performance is being hailed as her best since she took home a gold statue for “Walk the Line.”
Most likely to be labeled a triumph of the human spirit: “Unbroken” (Dec. 25, PG-13)
Angelina Jolie directed this adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand’s astounding biography of Louis Zamperini. It’s not often that someone’s Olympic career is the least interesting aspect of his life, but so it is for the man who competed in the 5,000-meter run in Berlin in 1936. A few years later he joined the Air Force and, during World War II, survived a plane crash and floated for 47 days in the ocean. He was then captured by Japanese forces and tortured for years as a prisoner of war. The movie stars Jack O’Connell, who is being heralded as the Next Big Thing.
Most likely to remind you of your sins: “Exodus: Gods and Kings” (Dec. 12, PG-13)
Christian Bale plays Moses in Ridley Scott’s retelling of the Old Testament story, and the result looks like “Gladiator” with more commandments. Expect plenty of violence, not to mention computer-generated trickery as seas part, burning bushes speak and the Ten Plagues set in.
Most likely to make Ava DuVernay a household name: “Selma” (Dec. 25, Not yet rated)
It’s hard to believe, but there hasn’t been a major movie about Martin Luther King Jr. Director DuVernay is getting plenty of accolades for filling the void with a film that isn’t just about the civil rights leader, but also serves as an intimate portrait of many other everyday people. David Oyelowo stars as King, although he may not be getting quite as much attention as one of the supporting actors: Oprah Winfrey, who plays civil rights activist Annie Lee Cooper.
Least likely to earn Benedict Cumberbatch an Oscar nomination: “Penguins of Madagascar” (Wednesday, PG)
The British actor is stretching himself, that’s true. Never before has he voiced an undercover operative, who also happens to be a gray wolf. That’s what he’s up to in this animated spin-off of “Madagascar”: He tries to recruit penguins Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private to help save the world.
Most likely to earn Benedict Cumberbatch an Oscar nomination: “Imitation Game” (Dec. 12, PG-13)
Cumberbatch is getting raves for his portrait of Alan Turing, another character tasked with helping to save the world. But in this case he was real: The British mathematician helped break Germany’s Enigma code during World War II.
Most realistic portrait of an artist: “Mr. Turner” (Dec. 25, R)
British character actor Timothy Spall (“Harry Potter” fixture Wormtail) gets his moment in the spotlight portraying artist J.M.W. Turner in this movie by Mike Leigh. Spall won the best actor prize at Cannes for his take on the grunting, hulking landscape painter during the two decades leading up to his death in 1851, which featured both massive success and waning public interest. Leigh and Spall researched the artist for years before filming the largely improvised biopic.
Most realistic portrait of an artist that Tim Burton can muster: “Big Eyes” (Dec. 25, PG-13)
This drama looks awfully true to life, a bit of a surprise considering the man behind “Edward Scissorhands” and “Big Fish” directed it. The biopic centers around Margaret Keane (Amy Adams), the artist responsible for those kitschy paintings of children whose oversized eyes give them a peculiar doll-like appearance. What’s interesting is that her husband (Christoph Waltz) took credit for the pieces, convinced that no one would buy art from a woman. At times, when Margaret sees strangers, they happen to have those same massive eyes. But in Burtonland, that’s as close to reality as you’re probably going to get.
Most likely to offend some people while making others snort-laugh: “The Interview” (Dec. 25, Not yet rated)
Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen are the team behind “Superbad” and “Pineapple Express,” so you know that some of the humor in this action-comedy is going to be juvenile. Rogen and James Franco play the producer and star, respectively, of a trashy tabloid show, and they jump at the chance to travel to North Korea and interview Kim Jong-un. The interview, they think, will make them seem like actual journalists. But the CIA has other, more assassination-centric plans for the pair.
