Shopping for cinema: movies for the merry season

While there aren’t any major films landing this weekend in multiplexes across America, that all changes over the next three weeks as the big holiday blockbusters end the year with a bang.

Here’s some of what you can look forward to for the rest of December — use them as an excuse to stop shopping for at least a couple of hours.

Miss Sloane (Dec. 9): Tapping into the spirit of the election season, Jessica Chastain plays a ruthless lobbyist in this thriller that also stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, John Lithgow, Jake Lacy, Sam Waterston and Mark Strong. It’s directed by John Madden, who knows his way around a thriller (The Debt) as well as other types of dramas (Shakespeare in Love, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) that find success with adult audiences looking for an alternative to special-effects-driven features. For the trailer, click here.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Dec. 16): There’s a lot riding on this one. This is a “Star Wars” spin-off and it’s directed by Gareth Edwards, who has a relatively short résumé, with the 2014 Godzilla reboot being the only film of his that many “Star Wars” fans may have seen. Will audiences strap in for a ride with a “Star Wars” side story starring Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Riz Ahmed and Ben Mendelsohn, each of whom is a strong actor but not necessarily a major box-office draw? No doubt, Disney is holding its corporate breath. For the trailer, click here.

Collateral Beauty (Dec. 16): Last December, Will Smith starred in Concussion, which many at the time thought would be a hit as well as an Oscar contender. Instead, the film sank from view rather quickly. Smith is back this season with this metaphysical drama about a man who finds his questions about the meaning of life being answered. Smith is supported by a great cast, including Keira Knightley, Edward Norton, Helen Mirren, Naomie Harris, Kate Winslet and Michael Peña. For the trailer, click here.

Assassin’s Creed (Dec. 21): It’s no secret that films based on video games generally aren’t very good. But Assassin’s Creed, about a man who lives the life of his 15th-century warrior ancestor, has a couple of advantages: a hotshot director, Justin Kurzel (Macbeth, The Snowtown Murders), with a keen visual eye, and a fascinatingly eclectic cast, including Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jeremy Irons, Essie Davis, Charlotte Rampling and Brendan Gleeson. Of course, Warcraft had a similar pedigree, with a gifted director in Duncan Jones and a strong cast, and that’s at 28 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. For the trailer, click here.

Passengers (Dec. 21): If it’s Christmas, it must be time for a new Jennifer Lawrence flick. This one is a science-fiction drama about space travelers in deep space who wake early from their frozen slumber. Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne and Andy Garcia co-star. It’s directed by Norway’s Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game), who made one of 2011’s best movies with Headhunters. For the trailer, click here.

Sing (Dec. 21): You can’t go wrong with an animated koala hosting a Voice-like singing competition for all of his animal friends. At least that’s what Universal is hoping with this fun-for-the-family feature with the voices of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Seth MacFarlane, Leslie Jones, Nick Kroll, Nick Offerman and John C. Reilly. For the trailer, click here.

Silence (Dec. 23): The anticipation for this one is as thick as traffic on I-35 at rush hour. It’s directed by Martin Scorsese and it’s his first feature film since the rollicking The Wolf of Wall Street in 2013. But expect a very different feel from Silence. It stars Adam Driver, Liam Neeson and Andrew Garfield and is set among Jesuit priests trying to bring Catholicism to 17th-century Japan. This could be a major Oscar contender. For the trailer, click here.

Fences (Dec. 25): Denzel Washington directs and stars in this cinematic interpretation of August Wilson’s acclaimed play of the same name. Set in the ’50s, the film focuses on an African-American man dealing with issues of his life and society. Viola Davis and Mykelti Williamson co-star. The word-of-mouth is strong on this one. For the trailer, click here.

This story was originally published November 27, 2016 at 8:55 PM with the headline "Shopping for cinema: movies for the merry season."