Christmas movie roundup: Dec. 23
Christmas brings its usual bounty of new films for those who would rather go to a movie theater than interact directly with family members, or for those who do not celebrate Christmas due to being Joos or Muslins or whatever.
“Sherlock Holmes,” the two-fisted Guy Ritchie adaptation of the iconic sleuth, opens Christmas Day, with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law doing fine, funny work as Holmes and Watson. It runs out of steam long before it’s finished, but you could do worse.
For example, you could watch “It’s Complicated” (review at Cinematical), also opening on Christmas, starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin. Please do not let the cast trick you into thinking this is a hilarious movie, though. It is not. Rarely have I seen such an egregious misuse of Steve Martin.
Now playing in wide release is “Up in the Air,” a terrific comedy starring George Clooney as a guy whose job is to fly around the country firing people. Due to having been directed by Jason Reitman, who made “Juno,” and due to its mostly very positive reviews since debuting at Telluride and Toronto in September, “Up in the Air” is currently perceived as something of an Oscar frontrunner. So you’ll need to see it for that reason, if nothing else.
“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” (review at Film.com) also opened Wednesday, but I don’t want to talk about it.
“Nine” (review at Film.com) opened last week in a few theaters and will go wide on Christmas. It’s the movie version of the Broadway musical, which in turn was based on Fellini’s “8 1/2,” which is about a man trying to make a movie despite not having any ideas. It’s a rather boring mess, unfortunately.
Finally, “The Lovely Bones” is in limited release and won’t go wide until January sometime. It’s a solid but not outstanding adaptation of the popular novel, directed by Peter Jackson.
And that’s it for me! My Film.com columns, Eric’s Bad Movies and What’s the Big Deal?, are off for the holiday. “In the Dark” next week will have my list of the best and worst films of 2009 and other end-of-the-year housekeeping. Until then, have a merry whatever you’re having!
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