First off, let's talk about "Jack Reacher". The director here is Christopher McQuarrie, whom has only one previous directing credit under his belt in "The Way of the Gun". Known in Hollywood much more for his writing, he is attempting to finally break through his directing shell and get back into that chair after a 12-year hiatus. The film is starring Tom Cruise, who you might remember from last year's "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol", which was also a December release and earned a cool 150MM in just the month of December alone. Though it doesn't have the established fanbase that MI4 did, we all know Cruise's track record in the $100MM+ department, so I wouldn't be surprised if "Jack Reacher" follows a similar formula in its money earnings this month. Early talks are saying that the action sequences have an extra sprinkle of artistic value as well as being just a straight-up good time. So if you are looking for that action movie then here is one for you. It might not excel in a whole lot more, but if you need a bit of adrenalin to get you through your family festivities, this could be good medicine.
"The Guilt Trip", starring Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand, is about a twenty-something businessman accompanied by his mother on his important work/road trip. The film is directed by Anne Fletcher, who is most known for her directing credits for "27 Dresses", "The Proposal", and "Step Up" - or, arguably more so for her choreography credits in...well, just about everything from "The Flintstones" to "Real Steal" and almost everything in between. If you have seen a dance you liked in a movie, there is a decent to good chance that she choreographed it. "The Guilt Trip", I'm sure, will put up its production and be a nice little watch for most families.
We are halfway through here so I'll just take a minute for people to make their sandwiches and take a restroom break............
"This is 40" is another of the army of releases this week. It's a spin-off movie of the 2007 feature "Knocked Up". It follows two of our supporting characters - Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann - five years after the events of the previously-stated film, where we get to see what they have been doing with their marriage since we last checked in. As this is a Judd Apatow movie, you can already be assured that there will be a good amount of fantastically written comedy involved. Known for his work on previous films such as "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Pineapple Express", people have come to expect Apatow's brand as kind of the "go-to" for comedy these days. I think this will be a fun film, but the only advice I really have is to maybe just leave the little ones at home, as it's rated-R.
The next two I will clump together. "Monsters, Inc. 3D" and "Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away" are releasing with the rest of the troops here. Most should be familiar with "Monsters, Inc.", at least in name, as it was previously released by Pixar more than a decade ago. It's the same film here, just getting that 3D treatment. For this film I will simply say that if you love it, go check it out in 3D now. If you don't, it's probably okay to give it that pass. For Cirque Du Soleil, If you have the ability to see it close by, it should be a pretty fantastic show, I think. Most people know what the Cirque Du Soleil crew is all about, so they pretty much get the gist of what's about to go down here - I hear there is a story involved and that sometimes people will do back-flips and stuff. If that sounds like something you want to watch, then go hit that up. Personally, I'm kind of into this stuff, so I wouldn't be against checking this out if it's around me. It always makes me feel like a kid again.
Whelp, that about wraps it up here for this weekend's titles. Plenty of choices this week, so take your pick of the litter! Make sure you are careful this holiday season as there will be many people all bustling about. Keep your eyes and ears sharp and enjoy the movies, friends! Happy Holidays to all!