I’ve just finished my final stack of study notes for my last exam, so I thought I’d carve out a little bit of time to highlight a few films that I am eager to see over this Christmas break. See the trailers and summaries below for my top three choices, as well as an extra list of other exciting films coming to theatres this month!

1) Joy – In Theatres Friday December 25

I loved Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle due to the combination of Director David O’Russell and actors Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Robert DeNiro. Therefore, after seeing the trailer for Joy for the first time I knew it would be the number one movie I would want to see this month.

http://cinematiccrashcourse.com/2015/02/14/actress-spotlight-jennifer-lawrence/

Also, as shown in the link above to a previous CCC “Actor Spotlight” post, I personally adore Jennifer Lawrence. As a result, I cannot wait to see what Jennifer brings to the role of Joy Mangano, as we watch the evolution of her business empire through several decades of her life.

2) Concussion – In Theatres Friday December 25

Will Smith has done an excellent job in the past at transforming himself in roles that are based off of the lives of real people, such as Muhammad Ali, and Chris Gardner. Therefore, I’m extremely interested to see what he will do in the role of Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist who discovered evidence of brain damage in professional players. Concussion is set in 2005, and follows Dr. Omalu as he fights against the National Football League to publicize his research.

3) Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens – In Theatres Friday December 18

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the seventh instalment of the epic Star Wars sci-fi saga and is the first film of the sequel trilogy. The setting of the film is roughly 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi with the return of Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher, and will follow the new leads of Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac. This new storyline will focus on the aftermath evolution of the Rebel Alliance to the Resistance and the Empire to the First Order.

• The Hateful Eight (In Theatres – Friday December 25): is a western film written/directed by Quentin Tarantino and is set in Wyoming a couple of years after the civil war. The film follows eight strangers as they take refuge in a stagecoach passover during an intense blizzard.

• Sisters (In Theatres – Friday December 18): is a comedy film featuring Tina Fey as the immature and inappropriate Katie Ellis, and Amy Poehler as the uptight and newly divorced Maura Ellis. The film follows the massive party the two sisters throw after finding out that their parents are about to sell their childhood home.

• The Big Short (In Theatres – Friday December 11): is a comedy-drama film based on the book of the same name, featuring an impressive ensemble cast of Christian Bale, Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt. The film follows a group of outsiders who predict the 2007-2010 financial crisis and their decision to take on several major American banks.

• In the Heart of the Sea (In Theatres – Friday December 11): is an adventure thriller film that focuses on the sinking of the 1820 American whaling ship Essex that inspired the tale of Moby Dick. The film follows Benjamin Walker as Captain George Pollard, Jr., Chris Hemsworth as First Officer Owen Chase, and the rest of their crew after their ship is wrecked by a massive bull sperm whale and they are stranded at sea for 90 days.

• Daddy’s Home (In Theatres – Friday December 25): is a comedy film pinning Will Ferrell as straight-laced step dad Brad Taggart, against Mark Wahlberg as bad-ass father Dusty Mayron. The film focuses on how the two compete to win over the affection of the mother (Linda Cardellini) and two children.