Hairy hobbits, Leonardo di Caprio as a bad guy, Russell Crowe singing, Bette Midler and Billy Crystal as grandparents, and Bill Murray as FDR! What a winter wonderland from Tinsel Town awaits us at the multiplex and the arthouse as 2012 draws to a close. Here we go again, when the final weeks of the year are stuffed with awards-bait features and big-buzz movies.
Because we already included major fall movies in an earlier preview, this holiday movie overview concentrates on the films opening after Thanksgiving, the month of December and carrying over into January.
The Oscar nominations will be announced Jan. 10, 2013, and the studios have their eyes on the prize, with the highly anticipated big pictures -- Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit," Quentin Tarantino's latest "Django Unchained" and the musical extravaganza "Les Miserables" ready to duke it out with the acclaimed fall releases.
Get ready for an intense look at the manhunt for Osama bin Laden, the Confederacy spun Tarantino-style, Barbra Streisand's return to the big screen, and the fascinating backstory to "Psycho."
The opening dates here are current information for the St. Louis area, and are subject to change.
AND THE WINNER IS ...
"Les Miserables"
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter
Director: Tom Hooper ( "The King's Speech")
The Story: The first big-screen adaptation of one of the all-time great musicals, which is based on Victor Hugo's epic novel. Paroled prisoner Jean Valjean seeks redemption, policeman Javert won't let him be, and rebels fight in the June Revolution.
Opens: Dec. 25
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
Stars: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett, Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood, Ian Holm, Hugo Weaving, Billy Connolly, Lee Pace
Director: Peter Jackson (Oscar for "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King")
The Story: The first installment of three movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's classic novel, when Bilbo Baggins must reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the dragon Smaug. The next ones come out in 2013 and '14.
Opens: Dec. 14
"Django Unchained"
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Leonardo di Caprio, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Johnson
Director: Quentin Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction")
The Story: Set in the Civil War-era, a slave-turned-bounty hunter attempts to rescue his wife from a vicious plantation owner in Mississippi.
Opens: Dec. 25
"Amour"
Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert
Director: Michael Haneke ("The White Ribbon")
The Story: A longtime married couple, retired music teachers in their '80s, must face the decline of the wife's mental and physical health. This French film is topping everyone's list as the foreign language movie of the year.
Opens: TBD
LAUGHTER AND LOVE
"Parental Guidance"
Stars: Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Marissa Tomei, Tom Everett Scott
Director: Andy Fickman ("Race to Witch Mountain")
The Story: A couple baby-sits their three grandchildren, and the generations clash with different styles of parenting.
Opens: Dec. 25
"This Is 40"
Stars: Paul Rudd, Lesllie Mann, Jason Segel, Melissa McCarthy, Albert Brooks
Director: Judd Apatow ("Knocked Up")
The Story: The story takes up a few years later after "Knocked Up," this time concentrating on Pete and Debbie, the married couple Rudd and Mann played in that Apatow comedy.
Opens: Dec. 21
"Playing for Keeps"
Stars: Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Dennis Quaid, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Uma Thurman
Director: Gabriele Muccino ("The Pursuit of Happyness")
The Story: A professional athlete has fallen on hard times, and becomes coach of his son's soccer team.
Opens: Dec. 7
"The Guilt Trip"
Stars: Barbra Streisand, Seth Rogen, Adam Scott
Director: Anne Fletcher ("The Proposal")
The Story: A mother and son, who is an inventor, go on a road trip to sell his invention.
Opens: Dec. 19
REALITY-BASED DRAMAS
"Hitchcock"
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Toni Collette, Jessica Biel, Danny Huston
Director: Sacha Gervasi ("Anvil")
The Story: The British master of macabre's difficult journey in getting "Psycho" made.
Opens: Nov. 30
"Hyde Park on the Hudson"
Stars: Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Williams, Samuel West
Director: Roger Michell ("Notting Hill")
The Story: The romance between Franklin D. Roosevelt and his distant cousin Margaret Stuckley the summer of 1939, when King George VI visits upstate New York.
Opens: Dec. 14
"The Impossible"
Stars: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor
Director: Juan Antonio Bayona ("The Orphanage")
The Story: The real story of one family's experience with the epic tsunami of 2004 as they vacationed in Thailand.
Opens: TBD
"Zero Dark Thirty"
Stars: Chris Pratt, Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, Mark Duplass
Director: Kathryn Bigelow (Oscar winner for "The Hurt Locker")
The Story: The 10-year manhunt for Osama bin Laden is chronicled
Opens: Jan. 11
ADVENTURES IN AMERICA
"Jack Reacher"
Stars: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Robert Duvall
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
The Story: Lee Child's book hero Jack Reacher, a homicide investigator, comes to the screen.
Opens: Dec. 21
"Promised Land"
Stars: Matt Damon, Frances McDormand, John Krasinski, Rosemarie DeWitt
Director: Gus Van Sant ("Milk")
The Story: In a rural farming community, a company representative shows up to offer residents what is initially perceived to be a sweet deal to drill on their property. But it isn't as easy as everyone thought, and life gets complicated.
Opens: TBD
"Not Fade Away"
Stars: James Gandolfini,
Director: David Chase ("The Sopranos")
The Story: A coming-of-age tale about a group of friends who form a rock band in the '60s.
Opens: TBD
DOCUMENTARIES
"West of Memphis"
Director: Amy Berg
The Story: The travesty of justice involving the West Memphis Three false imprisonment case is explored, with new information revealed.
Opens: TBD
"The Central Park Five"
Directors: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon
The Story: Another miscarriage of justice -- the 1989 wrongful conviction of five African-American and Latino youths for the raping of a white woman in Central Park. Years later, a serial rapist confessed to the crimes, and the innocent men are set free.
Opens: Dec. 14
"The Flat"
Director: Arnon Goldfinger
The Story: His grandparents were immigrants from Nazi Germany. While he is cleaning out their living quarters, after they've passed away, he uncovers clues that lead to shocking revelations.
Opens: Dec. 7
