Christmas Movie Offerings

We're four days away from Christmas, but since that falls on a Sunday this year the Christmas box office starts today with the release of The Adventures of Albert Nobbs with the Dragon Tintin. On Friday, We Bought the Land of Blood and Honey comes out and then on Christmas Day Extremely Loud War & Incredibly Close Horse makes it debut. Wait... back up, let's start over.

Like last month for Thanksgiving, there are about seven films coming out this upcoming holiday which I'm interested in checking out though if I'm being honest, I'm only planning on seeing 3-4 of them in theaters. The good thing about the films coming out is that they're all aiming for slightly different audiences which means there should be something for everyone. And with super famous names both in front and behind the cameras, Hollywood is hoping for some potentially big numbers.

The Films For the Whole Family

Not sure where to take the little ones on the trip to the cinema? Well you can catch up on the number of films that are already out such as Arthur Christmas, The Muppets, Hugo, or even that not-at-all recommended Chipmunks movie. But if you want your animals, maybe check out We Bought A Zoo, a film by Cameron Crowe starring Matt Damon as a father who, not shockingly, buys a zoo. Scarlett Johansson and Elle Fanning co-star. Or you can also see a film that's already made more than $200 million internationally and is directed by Steven Spielberg. That film is The Adventures of Tintin which is based on a popular Belgian comic book character. Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, and Simon Pegg are among the voice actors.

The Films For the Whole Family with Older Kids

Speaking of Spielberg and animals, War Horse also comes out this weekend, more specifically on Christmas Day. Most of the marketing for this film focuses on the horse and the way Spielberg makes war look so darn pretty and cinematic. There's also Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, a film by Stephen Daldry based on a book about an autistic kid whose father dies on 9/11. Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, and Viola Davis are in the film. Both films seem to aim at tackling some serious events in history with a heartwarming tale that is bound to tug at your heart and make you cry. I can't wait.

The Films Certainly Not For Kids

Finally, if all of these other films seems a little too candy cane sweet and ho-ho-ho jolly and you prefer something a bit edgier and thrilling then David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is for you. This is definitely one film I'm looking forward to, partly because of the amazing trailer I've seen ad nauseum and partly due to the track record of everyone involve. The film stars Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, and Christopher Plummer with Mara getting some award notices already for a tough role. There's also Angelina Jolie's directorial debut with In the Land of Blood and Honey which I'm thinking is a war story like War Horse except a little more brutal.

Fringe Contenders: Will either/both be nominated for an Oscar?

Of course there's also Albert Nobbs starring Glenn Close, which probably fit in the middle group except I doubt many kids, even older kids, are clamoring to see this one. She's getting some Oscar buzz for this film playing a woman pretending to be a man though the general reviews for this is decidedly mixed to negative. The other films have generally positive reviews with Fincher's Dragon Tattoo the best bet there and Daldry's Extremely Loud waiting for more reviews to give consensus.

There are plenty of other films in the marketplace for audiences most notably this past weekend's box office champ Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and the very well-reviewed Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol as well as some Oscar favorites like The Artist and My Week with Marilyn. For me, I'll do my best to catch The Artist, Mission Impossible, Adventures of Tintin, Extremely Loud, and Dragon Tattoo in the next two weeks or so. What are you looking forward to this holiday season?