Movie mania for the holiday season

The time has come. The holidays are almost here. Oscar season is on its way. With the holiday season quickly approaching, some of the most anticipated films of the year are coming out at a

The time has come. The holidays are almost here. Oscar season is on its way. With the holiday season quickly approaching, some of the most anticipated films of the year are coming out at a multiplex near you.

In theaters this past weekend are Love Actually and Elf. These two Christmas comedies are sure to give you a laugh. Love Actually, starring Hugh Grant, is a new romantic-comedy by the same team that brought you Bridget Jones’s Diary and Notting Hill.

An ensemble cast, including Emma Thompson and Colin Firth, entwine in love, leading up to a climactic Christmas Eve ending. Elf is more of a family film about a human raised by elves in the North Pole who goes in search of his real father. Former Saturday Night Live player Will Ferrell stars as the comical Elf.

Later in November, another classic Dr. Seuss book comes to life as a live action film.

Mike Myers will play the feline favorite in Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat which opens Nov. 21. I Am Sam’s star powered youth, Dakota Fanning, and The Kid’s Spencer Breslin also co-star. Ron Howard will try his hand at the western genre with The Missing.

Set in the 1880s southwest, Cate Blanchett plays a mother who reaches out for help from her estranged Apache father (Tommy Lee Jones) to find her kidnapped daughter.

December begins with Tom Cruise fighting in an epic action adventure set in 1870s Japan. He is sent as a Civil War veteran to train the troops of the Emperor Meiji, who wants to protect his territories in The Last Samurai. The film opens Dec. 5.

Big Fish, the new fantasy-flick from the imagination of Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands), is a tale about the relationship between an estranged son who tries to understand his dying father through his fairy-tale stories from the past. The film starring Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor, Billy Crudup and Jessica Lange opens Dec. 10th.

What would December be without the final installment of Lord of the Rings? Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will answer those questions you may have about the first two films.

Finally you will find out what will happen at the end of Frodo’s journey. The anticipation will finally come to an end on Dec. 17.

Oscar winner Julia Roberts is back with Mona Lisa Smile on Dec. 19. Set in 1953, Roberts plays a schoolteacher at a womens college.

She sets out to liberate her students, challenging them to choose passionate careers over husbands.

Cold Mountain, opening Dec. 25, is a star-packed Civil War drama. Road to Perdition star, Jude Law, is a wounded Confederate solider on a journey to get back home to his wife.

Oscar sweethearts Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger also star. With all these Oscar-powered actors, it just may be the biggest hit of the season.

Don’t let the cold weather keep you cooped up inside.

With all these choices bursting into theaters, there should be something for everyone this holiday season.

Despite all these striking titles, don’t miss out on these other flicks as well: 21 Grams, Gothika, Master in Commander, Something’s Gotta Give, The Company, Cheaper By the Dozen, Peter Pan and The Alamo.


Kevin Nolty can be reached at Knolt81@aol.com

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