Family time: Reeling in the holiday spirit

The chillier the weather gets, the more people choose to spend time with their families, cuddle up on a sofa and watch an entertaining flick. The Brangelina brood has already kick-started their season festivities by making an appearance to see Cirque de Soleil’s staging of ‘Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour’ on December 17. However, since most of us can’t be as extravagant with our family outings, we suggest you start stacking these family entertainments and have a back-to-back movie marathon over the weekend to avoid the boredom-induced fits.

Needless to say, with Oscars waiting just round the corner, producers have released their family-oriented films in the hope of creating some recency effect, which will eventually earn them a golden lad at the most prestigious awards in Hollywood.

New Year’s Eve (December 9)

Director Garry Marshall follows up Valentine’s Day with this all-star ensemble film featuring a cast that includes Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hilary Swank, Jessica Biel and Ashton Kutcher. The film will follow its prequels format and will have a series of disconnected episodes in different people’s lives weaved together. If nothing else, this movie is a lavish feast for the eyes, if not for the mind.


Young Adult (December 9)

Academy Award winner Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her hometown after her divorce. However, she finds herself desperately trying to rekindle romance with her high school sweetheart (played by Patrick Wilson), who is now happily married to someone else. Despite getting acclaim for darker roles, Theron has opted for a comical character after quite some time. We suggest the film if you’re yearning for a 94- minute light-hearted escape.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (December 16)

The delightfully sardonic and calculated detective is back with his good looking sidekick. However, this time around he is not the only one with smarts. Now, there is a new criminal mastermind at large Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris). Not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. With actors like Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams and Jared Harris, this comedy/mystery is a power-packed treat for suspense lovers.

Carnage (December 16)

Carnage is a sharp, biting comedy centered on parental differences, which escalate when parents of two school rivals sit together to discuss the kindergarten enmity between their children. A polite discussion of childrearing soon turns into a verbal war, with all four parents revealing their true colours. The film, directed by controversial director Roman Polanski, has high impact performances by Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz and John C Reilly.

The previous week has been a good one for those who fancy watching light-hearted comedies and romantic films. Other mentions that an avid film buff must look out for are Shame starring Michael Fassbender, W.E. and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol with Tom Cruise and Anil Kapoor.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2011.