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A guide to holiday movies Oscar hopefuls, fan favorites and period pieces fill theaters as the year comes to a close. Critic Stephanie Merry shares the buzz on some of the films to know this season. For showtimes, trailers and reviews, click the bold text in each item.
‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2’
Fanatics have begun readying their Team EdCob T-shirts for opening night, because advance ticket sales already are breaking box-office records. At this pace, the final installment could very well beat the staggering opening-weekend haul of $138.1 million that "Breaking Dawn Part I" raked in last November. Read more
Doane Gregory/Summit Entertainment
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‘A Royal Affair’
The Danish film was a hit at the Berlin Film Festival, where it brought home an award for the screenplay, written by director Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg, and an acting prize for the consistently brilliant Mads Mikkelsen -- best known stateside as the James Bond villain who cries blood -- portraying doctor Johann Friedrich Struensee. Read more
Magnolia Pictures
‘Anna Karenina’
Director Joe Wright set much of the movie on a theater stage invisible to the characters, driving home the concept of being trapped in preconceived roles. It's an inventive move that's getting as much praise as flack. There undoubtedly will be more kudos, as Wright's movies are dependably beautiful, and Oscar-winning screenwriter (not to mention Tony-winning playwright) Tom Stoppard penned the adaptation. Read more
Laurie Sparham/Focus Features
‘Chasing Ice’
The images are magnificent, the findings troubling. And the eye-opening footage of the rapidly melting ice caps took home awards at both Sundance and the SXSW Film Festival. Read more
James Balog/Extreme Ice Survey
‘Life of Pi’
Critical response to the movie after the New York Film Festival was fairly glowing. Praise went to screenwriter David Magee, who managed to stay faithful to the beloved bestseller, while viewers appreciated a film that looked spectacular enough to merit its use of 3-D. Read more
Twentieth Century Fox
‘Red Dawn’
A long delay between conception and opening weekend usually indicates trouble. In this case, the release of Dan Bradley’s directorial debut was first thwarted by distributor MGM’s Chapter 11 restructuring and further delayed by the ridiculed post-production decision to transform the original Chinese intruders into North Koreans. Read more
Ron Phillips
‘Rise of the Guardians’
Early word is that the movie, based on books by William Joyce, could shape up to be a fairly run-of-the-mill adventure. In a season somewhat deficient in kid-friendly features, "Guardians" has one thing going for it: a lack of competition. Read more
AP
‘Silver Linings Playbook’
The Oscar chatter surrounding David O. Russell’s quirky dramedy has only increased since the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it took home the people’s choice award. But the director behind “Three Kings” and “The Fighter” isn’t the only one receiving accolades; Lawrence, who was nominated for an Oscar for “Winter’s Bone,” could once again land on the short list for best actress. Read more
The Weinstein Company
‘Hitchcock’
If pushing a movie opening back signals bad omens, moving a release up could indicate Oscar-related confidence. In this case, the awards hopeful would most likely be Anthony Hopkins, who pulls off Sir Alfred's signature deadpan.
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
‘Killing Them Softly’
Critics got a first look at the crime film when it competed for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Early response was positive to the grungy, dialogue-heavy metaphor for capitalist greed. Read more
Melinda Sue Gordon
‘The Waiting Room’
When the film screened at Silverdocs this year, the eye-opening example of cinema verite showcased the humor, heartbreak and humdrum banality of hospitals while bringing the human dimension to a raging political debate. Read more
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Bright Pictures
‘Playing for Keeps’
Director Gabriele Muccino has a lot of practice guiding the redemption story, between the fairly well-received “The Pursuit of Happyness” and melodramatic “Seven Pounds.” Here’s hoping screenwriter Robbie Fox (”So I Married an Axe Murderer”) provides a little comedy. Read more
Dale Robinette
‘Hyde Park on Hudson’
Preliminary reports sound the alarm to an overload of plot points, not to mention a scene between FDR and Daisy that could make some audience members a tad squeamish. Uncomfortable trysts aside, Bill Murray is garnering major accolades for his performance, again certifying that he's come a long way since "Meatballs." Read more
Nicola Dove
‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’
It seemed natural to turn the three volumes that make up "The Lord of the Rings" into three films, but eyebrows raised over transforming the trilogy's shorter, simpler predecessor into a trio of movies — especially given the 2-1/2-hour-plus runtime of this first installment. Director Peter Jackson may need a ruthless editor, but his track record hints that the film will prove a 3-D vision to behold. Read more
James Fisher/Warner Bros.
‘Monsters, Inc. 3D’
Sure, it may be a way for Pixar to add to its stockpile of cash, but if putting dependable, age-spanning crowd-pleasers back on the big screen is wrong, we don't want to be right. Or maybe that's just desperation for kid-friendly features talking. Read more
Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studio Films
‘The Guilt Trip’
It has been more than a decade-and-a-half since Barbra Streisand headlined a movie. Hopefully that's some indication of the strength of the script by Dan Fogelman ("Crazy, Stupid, Love"). Read more
Sam Emerson
‘Jack Reacher’
Fans of Lee Child’s books were dismayed to learn the relatively petite Tom Cruise would take on the role of the towering score-settler. But even the author agrees that Cruise’s action-film experience is more important than his stature. Read more
Karen Ballard
‘Rust and Bone’
The movie, written and directed by Jacques Audiard (”A Prophet”), was nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes, and the feedback was largely positive both for the bittersweet tale and Marion Cotillard’s performance as a killer whale trainer coming to terms with a horrific accident. Read more
Roger Arpajou
‘This Is 40’
Judd Apatow once again brings the raunch-induced laughs, although this buffet of marriage turmoil and parenting grief feels slightly more depressing than past ventures, and not just because Fiona Apple wrote a song for the soundtrack. Read more
Suzanne Hanover
‘Les Miserables’
When the first trailer hit the Web, fans of the musical were split over Anne Hathaway's singing abilities. But Hugh Jackman seems ideally cast as Valjean, and "Les Miz" die-hards should be happy to hear that the movie retains all of the musical's beautiful ballads and catchy ditties. Read more
Laurie Sparham
‘Parental Guidance’
Some of the jokes feel derivative, but this family comedy looks like it could hit pretty close to home for Gen-Xers and their baby boomer parents. Read more
Kerry Hayes
‘Django Unchained’
Quentin Tarantino isn't everyone's cup of tea, but moviegoers who love his tales of revenge, dark humor and stylized violence -- along with those willing to surrender historical accuracy to artistic license -- should receive exactly what they wanted for Christmas. Read more
Andrew Cooper
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