It’s the most wonderful time of the year — time to watch movies.
Every year, my family and I have long-standing tradition of watching a movie on Christmas day. Sometimes we chose tearjerkers like “Marley and Me” and “Les Misérables”, and other times we chose a-tad-too-intense-for-my-liking movies like “Sherlock Holmes.”
This season, the movies do not disappoint and there’s bound to be a movie for everyone’s taste. Here are several movies worth watching over break:
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Release Date: Nov. 20
About: Last time we saw Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), she had been attacked by her friend and lover Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) in a cliff-hanger that made me scream in my seat. “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2” catches up right where it left off, with Katniss preparing for a revolution to overthrow the Capitol. If you’re having doubts about seeing it since critics say it has underperformed in the box office, I’m telling you now that you can’t not watch it, especially if you’ve seen the previous three movies.
Christmas Eve
Release Date: Dec. 4
About: “Christmas Eve” follows the path of movie classics such as “Love Actually,” that follow several different storylines that eventually cross paths in the end. Six groups of people end up trapped in elevators on Christmas Eve after a city-wide power outage (not recommended for the claustrophobic). Every season needs a fun rom-com, and this movie provides just that.
In the Heart of the Sea
Release Date: Dec. 11
About: “In the Heart of the Sea” is an action-packed movie that follows a true story of the Essex, a whale ship from Massachusetts that was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale in 1820. 31 years later, Herman Melville would publish “Moby-Dick; or, The Whale,” a novel based on the Essex that some consider to be one of the best pieces of American literature. The movie depicts the survivors as they struggle to remain alive until help arrives.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Release Date: Dec. 18
About: It’s what we’ve been anticipating for years: the latest installment of Star Wars. Truthfully, I haven’t seen all the movies and don’t want to upset the die-hard fans, but from what I hear, the movie is being called The Biggest Movie of the Year.” Unlike some sequels that should have never been made, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is supposed to meet all expectations.
Sisters
Release Date: Dec. 18
About: In my humble opinion, this is one of the most anticipated films of the year. The queens of comedy pair up in “Sisters” to make us remember why we never want to grow up. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler play two sisters who throw one last house party before their parents sell their childhood house. Fey and Poehler's on-screen chemistry and real-life friendship should put this movie at the top of your list.
The Revenant
Release Date: Dec. 25
About: Currently sitting at the top of IMDB’s "Probable Oscar Nominations and Winners" list of 2016, “Revenant” gives Leonardo DiCaprio more hope to win his first oscar. The film, inspired by true events set in the 1800s, follows frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is abandoned by his own team after being attacked by a wild grizzly bear. Glass, suffering from betrayal from team member John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), travels the wilderness on a quest for survival. Rated R for “strong frontier combat and violence,” this movie is not for the weak-stomached.
Joy
Release Date: Dec. 25
About: Two years after “American Hustle,” Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper team up again – this time with Robert De Niro – in a powerful story focusing on one woman’s struggle in the world of business and tough love. Lawrence stars as Joy Mangano, an entrepreneur and single mother of three children, who founded the Miracle Mop. Most likely, “Joy” will be my family’s Christmas movie of the year.
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