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Friday, December 7, 2012

2012-2013 Winter Movie Preview

Summer may be over and autumn may have passed, but there's still plenty of bombastic blockbusters and several would-be Oscar contenders on the way to theaters over the next few months. Here's our rundown of all the IGN-friendly films that you need to catch between now and spring 2013:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Release Date: Dec. 14 (US), Dec. 13 (UK), Dec. 26 (AU)

Studio: Warner Bros./New Line Cinema/MGM

Peter Jackson returns to Middle-earth for a second fantasy trilogy featuring hobbits, wizards, and dwarves. This prequel to Lord of the Rings chronicles Bilbo's original misadventures as he discovers the One Ring and helps a band of dwarves reclaim their lost mountain kingdom from the dragon Smaug. Not only is The Unexpected Journey in 3D, but it's the first major showcase for 48 fps presentation.

Monsters Inc. 3D

Release Date: Dec. 19 (US), Jan. 18 (UK), Jan. 17 (AU)

Studio: Pixar/Disney

Another Pixar classic returns to the big screen this year for the full 3D treatment. And with Monster University hitting theaters next summer, it's not a bad time for fans to reacquaint themselves with Sulley and Mike. If Finding Nemo 3D and Partysaurus Rex were any indication, the new animated short might be worth the price of admission alone.

Zero Dark Thirty

Release Date: Dec. 19 (US, limited), Jan. 11 (US, wide), Jan. 25 (UK), Jan. 31 (AU)

Studio: Columbia Pictures

It's been four years since Kathryn Bigelow made waves in theaters and at the Academy Awards with her contemporary military drama The Hurt Locker. Given its recent reception at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards and National Board of Review, Zero Dark Thirty might just offer a repeat performance. This controversial film provides a dramatized account of the decade-long manhunt for Osama bin Laden, with Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, and Kyle Chandler starring.

The Guilt Trip

Release Date: Dec. 19 (US), Feb. 22 (UK), Jan. 24 (AU)

Studio: Paramount/MGM

What if The Odd Couple starred a brilliant but insecure inventor and his overbearing mother? That's sort of the premise of this comedy that teams Seth Rogen with Barbara Streisand. The two embark on a road trip as Rogen's character attempts to market his latest invention and deal with one awkward situation after another. The hope is that hilarity ensues, though early buzz on this flick isn't great.

Jack Reacher

Release Date: Dec. 21 (US), Dec. 26 (UK) Jan. 3 (AU)

Studio: Paramount Pictures

Sorry, Mission: Impossible fans, no sequel this year. Instead, Tom Cruise is in a different sort of action movie. Following a devastating sniper attack, former military police officer Jack Reacher is called in to make sense of the shootings. Christopher McQuarrie wrote and directed this adaptation of the Lee Child novel One Shot, which could be the start of a new franchise for Cruise.

This is 40

Release Date: Dec. 21 (US), Feb. 14 (UK), Jan. 17 (AU)

Studio: Universal Pictures

Seth Rogen may be headlining The Guilt Trip, but several other familiar faces are reuniting for this spinoff to Judd Apatow's popular raunchy comedy Knocked Up. With Rogen and Katherine Heigl out, the focus shifts to Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann's characters as they deal with the onset of middle age. Jason Segel's flirtatious stoner is back, and Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, and Melissa McCarthy round out an impressive cast.

On the Road

Release Date: Dec. 21 (US, limited), Oct. 12 (UK), Sept. 27 (AU)

Studio: Focus Features

Jack Kerouac's On the Road is a semi-autobiographical novel about self-discovery and exploration that serves as the definitive text for the 1950's Beat generation. Surprisingly, it wasn't until 2012 that this seminal work was finally adapted for film. On the Road reunites The Motorcycle Diaries director Walter Salles and writer Jose Rivera. Garret Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, and Sam Riley star as three youngsters who embark on a life-changing road trip.

The Impossible

Release Date: Dec. 21 (US), Jan. 1 (UK), Jan. 24 (AU)

Studio: Summit Entertainment

Director Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage) makes his English language debut with this drama. Ewan MacGregor and Naomi Watts star as parents who take their family on a vacation to Thailand just as the terrible 2004 tsunami hits. The family's collective quest to survive the aftermath and reunite forms the backbone of the film, which also features some intensive special effects designed to recreate the tsunami and its devastation.

Not Fade Away

Release Date: Dec. 21 (US); TBD (UK, AU)

Studio: Paramount Vantage

Sopranos creator David Chase makes the jump from TV to film with this music-oriented drama. John Magaro plays a teenager in the 1960's with dreams of starting a rock 'n' roll band. James Gandolfini plays the boy's father, a man who lived through the Great Depression and is both encouraging and jealous of his son's liberated freedom.

Django Unchained

Release Date: Dec. 25 (US); Jan. 18 (UK); Jan. 24 (AU)

Studio: The Weinstein Company

Quentin Tarantino goes west in Django Unchained, a Deep South tale centered on the film’s title character played by Jamie Foxx. Django is a slave who treks across the Deep South with a German bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz). The film also stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington and Samuel L. Jackson.

Les Miserables

Release Date: Dec. 25 (US); Jan. 11 (UK); Dec. 26 (AU)

Studio: Universal Pictures

Based on the classic novel and musical of the same name, Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables stars Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter and Russel Crowe. The film also features songs sung live during filming instead of lip-synching to pre-recorded tracks, making it one of the most authentic musicals ever made.


Source : ign[dot]com

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