The 2011 Holiday Movie Season

The holiday movie season has traditionally been Hollywood’s dumping ground for Oscar bait. Prestige pictures are rushed out the door to meet eligibility requirements, and film nerds rejoice that we’re actually getting some more intelligent, subtle fair. Well, in recent years, the trend hasn’t quite reversed, but big tentpole action films are being released during the holidays now. Avatar came out on Christmas, for instance, and this year, we’ve got stuff like Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. But there are still some interesting looking movies coming out as well, so here’s a few that I’m looking forward to:

  • Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel – A documentary covering the career of Roger Corman. The release looks to be severely limited, so I’m wondering if I’ll ever get to see the movie, but here’s to hoping it at least makes it to DVD/Streaming quickly. It’s still right up my alley though, so if I get a chance, I’ll jump to see it…
  • Haywire – Steven Soderbergh slumming it with an espionage action flick. He’s also reuniting with The Limey screenwriter Lem Dobbs on this one, which is somewhat encouraging. Certainly worth a look, though I’m hearing mixed things and I think I saw a preview for this that wasn’t particularly inspiring… so I guess we’ll see.
  • Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – An exceptional cast, notable director, and well-regarded source material. It looks a little on the dry side, but color me intrigued. I could go for a slow-burning espionage thriller right about now, and this looks like it will fit the bill nicely.
  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – I loved the original Swedish version of the film, and this looks like pretty much the same movie… but with another talented cast, director David Fincher, and music by Trent Reznor, I’m pretty excited to check this out. I expect to be a bit underwhelmed, but Fincher tends to outperform when I go into a movie thinking that…
  • The Adventures of Tintin – Stephen Spielberg has two movies coming out this holiday season, but I’m more interested in this one. I know very little about it, except that it’s an animated adventure film directed by Spielberg. What else could I possibly want?
  • Other Stuff: War Horse, A Dangerous Method, and Young Adult.
  • Stuff to Watch on DVD/BD/Streaming: Attack the Block has been #1 in my Netflix queue for a while now, but it’s still at “Very Long Wait”. At this point, I’m a little worried about expectations with that one. Also looking to get past the “Very Long Wait” on Bellflower. Others in the queue: Another Earth, The Guard, The Trip, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Martha Marcy May Marlene (making the reasonable assumption that I can’t find it in the theater), and probably a few others that I haven’t figured out yet.

Note, I didn’t include movies that are currently out in wide release and/or movies that I’ve already seen (i.e. that’s why The Muppets and Hugo aren’t listed…)

I’m actually a little more on top of things than I thought I was with this year’s crop of movies. Part of it is that I’ve managed to catch up with several films on DVD/BD lately. I’m sure a few other things will pop up between now and when I actually compile my top 10 of 2011, but as of right now, this is looking like a banner year (especially if you add in my Fantastic Fest watching) in terms of movies seen…

2 thoughts on “The 2011 Holiday Movie Season”

  1. I am of two minds regarding the Tintin movie. The first is “OMGTintinandSnowyandCaptainHaddockSQUEEEEE!” I taught myself to read with the Tintin trades back as a very young duckling, and even now there’s a dozen of them within five paces of my computer desk. I’ve waited all my life for a real Tintin film.

    The other part of me is quailing in fear because… I’ve waited all my life for a real Tintin film. If it’s not done well, a major portion of my childhood is going to feel crushed.

    The trailers I’ve seen so far do nothing to tip my feelings one way or the other. I guess I need to hear Snowy’s howl, Haddock’s “Billions of blistering blue barnacles” before I make the call.

  2. While I’m excited to see the movie, I do have the benefit of not having any real exposure to the Tintin stuff, so I also don’t have any real built up expectations. In fact, I’m going in almost completely blind. I may have seen bits and pieces of the trailer, but I honestly have a pretty clean slate going in, which is nice sometimes. In any case, I hope it’s good enough to live up to your expectations…

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