In the days between carved jack o’ lanterns and pumpkin pie there is a need for entertainment, a distraction from the soon to be holiday hustle of shopping and final exams. In your time of need I suggest grabbing your friend, or a date, and catching up on the newest movie releases, in the cinema, with buttery popcorn in hand, where movies can be enjoyed. Here are a few hot new movies that I suggest you see this holiday season.
Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express, is a retelling of the beloved Agatha Christie novel by the same name. The film is supremely directed by Kenneth Branagh, with visually stunning cinematography. It tells the tale of a mountainous train journey that goes haywire during a storm. Soon after, a murder takes place and every passenger becomes a suspect. World renowned detective Hercule Poirot is aboard the train and must find the killer, in the ultimate whodunit.
The stranded train is full of a group of rich personalities, played by a star-studded cast: Penelope Cruz a Spanish missionary nurse, Willem Dafoe a professor, Judi Dench a princess, and Johnny Depp a criminal. At times, you will feel like you are playing the board game Clue, and when it is not Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick, you will become frustrated with the complexity of the plot. That is the magic of this film, it makes you think.
I thought the star-studded cast gave a few lackluster performances mostly due to the pacing of the film. The beginning is slow and reminiscent of a Hitchcockian film, a great influence, but it does not deliver the same level of suspense. Even though the viewer is wondering who the murderer is, there doesn’t seem to be an emotional connection to the plot. You are surely in for a surprise in this movie’s second half. I don’t give away spoilers, so I suggest you see the film.
American Made
Tom Cruise stars in American Made, based on a true story of the life of Barry Seal TWA Pilot turned CIA pilot who smuggled drugs into the United States for the Medellín Cartel in the 1980s. Anyone who watches the Netflix drama series Narcos is familiar with the Medellín Cartel, Pablo Escobar, and the dangerous life of drug trafficking.
This new film does an excellent job of displaying how being involved in the drug trade effects the individual’s home life. Barry Seal put his family in grave danger pursuing the money he was making in clandestine operations. Once he was in, there was no going back to his old life as a commercial airline’s pilot. Sarah Wright does a great job of playing a wife that is trying her best to protect her family from crime related violence, but she sees no easy way out.
The film incorporates history into the Hollywood rendering of Barry Seal’s life. While some scenes like landing a plane on a civilian cul de sac while escaping the DEA may have never occurred, but American Made does a great job of encompassing late 1970s and 1980s history; showing the campaign of Nancy Regan to “Just Say No” to drugs while the government was simultaneously involved with drug and arms trade with the Contras in Nicaragua.
Expect to see Tom Cruise’s signature charisma in this film. The ageing star does a terrific job playing a like-able iconoclast. He soon becomes involved in dangers that were way above his experience and pay grade and the audience is taken for the thrill ride of his decadent and depraved existence in the 1980s. I highly suggest this film to anymore who likes American history and a good dose of action.
Justice League
The much-anticipated Justice League hits theaters Thursday November 16th and fans will be able to finally see all their favorite DC superheroes together in one movie. The film is directed by Zack Synder, (director of Man of Steel, Wonder Woman, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice). Synder’s directing is often slow-motion violent indecency, but some love his visual portrayal of their favorite comics.
This film focuses on Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Ezra Milller as The Flash, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg. Fans had split opinions on 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Ben Affleck was a different Batman from Christian Bale’s iconic Dark Knight Batman. However, many fans grew to love Ben Affleck in the role. Luckily, Jesse Eisenberg’s cringe worthy performance as Lex Luthor is left out of this DC Batman picture.
This film is one of the most anticipated films of 2017. While the gauntlet thrown DC’s Justice League doesn’t have the “superpower” that Marvel movies have recently earned. The importance of this film will be seeing how it compares in ratings and the box-office to recent Marvel movies. Marvel Films such as The Avengers have outsold DC competition. This movie’s plot is weak for all the hype. Still, if you’re either a DC fan, Marvel fan, or even both; you should go see the gathering of DC comic book greats with an all-star cast this holiday season.
These three films are just a few blockbusters that are out this 2017-2018 holiday season. If action/drama movies aren’t your favorite there are a lot of other options coming to theaters near you. Coco is a new Pixar movie in theaters Thanksgiving Day and is a cute depiction of a Day of the Dead type afterlife world, think Tim Burton meets Toy Story. It will be a great film to see with a stomach full of tryptophan, and a refrigerator full of leftovers.
Featured image via “Justice League Poster FINALLY Adds Superman!” by AntMan3001 / CC BY-SA
