Holiday Movie Preview

by Joshua Maloni
December 8, 2004

Anticipation grows this time of year. Usually, it’s because of the promise of presents. This year, that feeling extends to the multiplex, where, after a fall full of forgettable films, December brings a stocking-full of marvelous movies.

Dec. 8

• Blade: Trinity - Wesley Snipes, Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Biel. The Marvel Comics superhero returns to fight Dracula.

Dec. 10

• Ocean’s Twelve - George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Catherine Zeta-Jones. Scene-stealers Clooney and company return to their robbing ways.

• The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (N.Y./L.A. - wide Dec. 25) - Bill Murray, Owen Wilson. Murray stars as the title character, a Jacques Cousteau-inspired explorer bent on avenging a shark-smitten friend. It’s a comedy.

Dec. 17

• The Aviator - Leonardo DiCaprio, Alec Baldwin, Kate Beckinsale, Cate Blanchett, Gwen Stefani. Martin Scorsese’s version of Howard Hughes’ life.

• Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - Jim Carrey. Carrey stars as Count Olaf in the film version of the popular children’s book series.

• Spanglish - Adam Sandler, Tea Leoni. A romantic dramedy from the genre’s master, director James L. Brooks.

• Beyond the Sea (N.Y./L.A.- wide Dec. 29) - Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth. Yet another biopic, this film chronicles the life of singer Bobby Darin.

• Million Dollar Baby - Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank. So, how does tough guy Clint Eastwood follow up his Oscar-winning tearjerker “Mystic River?” With a tale of a female Rocky (Swank), of course.

• Flight of the Phoenix - Dennis Quaid, Giovanni Ribisi. A remake of the 1965 film, it focuses on the survivors of a plane crash in Mongolia.

Dec. 22

• Meet the Fockers - Ben Stiller, Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Teri Polo. The sequel to “Meet the Parents.” This time around, it’s time to meet the groom’s parents - played by Hoffman and Streisand.

• Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera (Limited - wide Jan. 21, 2005) - Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum. Chandeliers will fall in the big screen version of the long-running stage classic.

Dec. 24

• The Woodsman - Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Eve, Mos Def. A reformed child molester is forced to move into an apartment near a school. Probably not the best choice for a holiday film for the family.

• Proof (N.Y./L.A.- wide TBD) - Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, Jake Gyllenhaal. This film is based on the play of the same name, and stars Paltrow as a daughter dealing with a dying, slightly demented father.

Dec. 25

• Fat Albert - Kenan Thompson. Bill Cosby’s cartoon creation comes to the big screen in a live-action adaptation.

• Darkness - Anna Paquin, Lena Olin. Children who disappeared several decades ago during a lunar eclipse return to haunt a family.

Dec. 29

• In Good Company (N.Y./L.A.- wide TBD) - Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Marg Helgenberger, Scarlett Johansson. Grace is set to take over a slightly-older Quaid’s job. That’s compounded by Grace’s relationship with Quaid’s daughter. It’s a comedy.

• The Assassination of Richard Nixon (N.Y./L.A.- wide TBD) - Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Don Cheadle. A furniture salesman seeks to punish President Nixon via the stage.

• William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice - Al Pacino, Joseph Fiennes, Jeremy Irons, Lynn Collins. It is as it says it is.

All dates are subject to change.