And just like that, December is upon us, and we’re scrambling to catch up on all the films we’ve had saved on our “to watch” lists, as well as the ones we’ve never heard about that others are celebrating as the year ends. Lists upon lists are about to drown us all, especially with the end of the decade tributes making their debuts.
READ MORE: The 100 Best Films Of The Decade [2010s]
Through it all, there’s still plenty to see ahead of us in theaters. Adaptations, action-adventures, Sundance dramas, and the most terrifying depictions of cats ever set to music, December has plenty to keep us satisfied in terms of event cinema. Sure, it’s easy to just set eyes on the impending “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” take over (and we’re excited about it too), but there’s such rich storytelling happening on streaming services and in theaters alike that it would be a shame to not wander out and check out something a little more unexpected. 2019 has been a fascinating year for film and December’s lineup is a just representation of the variety and eccentricities on display.
READ MORE: The 25 Best Films Of 2019
“In Fabric”
Cast: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Haley Squires, Leo Bill, Gwendoline Christie
Synopsis: A lonely woman, recently separated from her husband, visits a bewitching London department store in search of a dress that will transform her life. She’s fitted with a perfectly flattering, artery-red gown–which, in time, will come to unleash a malevolent curse and unstoppable evil, threatening everyone who comes into its path.
What You Need to Know: Director Peter Strickland has created some of the more visually striking and narratively beguiling films of the past decade, with output such as “Berberian Sound Studio” and “The Duke of Burgundy.” He returns with a similarly vexing and undoubtedly haunting “horror comedy” “In Fabric” which follows a recent, lonesome divorcee and a cursed item of clothing. “In Fabric” certainly won’t be for the casual viewer who isn’t as familiar with Strickland’s “batshit” qualities in storytelling, but those who are prepared are in for a lush fever dream of madness and desire. Our critic wrote of Strickland “…he’s one of the most original, imaginative and playful filmmakers working today even if he owes a huge debt to outré, cult European genre films of the ‘60s and ‘70s most audiences haven’t seen.”
Release Date: December 6th (Theaters), December 10th (Streaming)
“The Aeronauts”
Cast: Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne
Synopsis: In 1862, daredevil balloon pilot Amelia Wren teams up with pioneering meteorologist James Glaisher to advance human knowledge of the weather and fly higher than anyone in history.
What You Need to Know: One of Amazon Studios’ 2019 would-be awards hopefuls, the hype surrounding “The Aeronauts,” which reunites “The Theory of Everything” stars Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne, seemingly fizzled upon its premiere at the Telluride Film Festival. The reactions were fine but failed to dazzle despite the epic scale of the story which promised action packed thrills. Directed by Tom Harper (“Misfits,” “War & Peace”), the film perhaps has lost its footing along the way with CGI riddled trailers. Regardless, Jones magnetism is enough to keep this story afloat, with our critic writing that “…Jones finds a way to transcend the scripted material and you rooting for Wren when their voyage is in truly dire straits.”
Release Date: December 6th (Theaters), December 20th(Streaming)
“Jumanji: The Next Level”
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Awkwafina
Synopsis: The gang is back but the game has changed. As they return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own, they discover that nothing is as they expect. The players will have to brave parts unknown and unexplored, from the arid deserts to snowy mountains, in order to escape the world’s most dangerous game.
What You Need to Know: Considering the star power leading the charge in the 2017 film, we can’t mark the success of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” as particularly surprising. With Dwayne Johnson at the forefront and the nostalgia attached to the property, there was always going to be support for the reboot. What was surprising was how genuinely entertaining the film was, in particular because of the cast with Jack Black and Karen Gillan as both obvious and exciting scene stealers. That being said, it wasn’t so good to make the inevitable sequel “Jumanji: The Next Level” an obvious must watch but the trailers and synopsis so far promise just enough of a twist of the old story to ensure an entertaining if redundant experience.
Release Date: December 13th
“A Hidden Life”
Cast: August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Bruno Ganz, Matthias Schoenaerts
Synopsis: The story of an unsung hero, Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. When the Austrian peasant farmer is faced with the threat of execution for treason, it is his unwavering faith and his love for his wife Fanni and children that keeps his spirit alive.
What You Need to Know: Long gone are the days when fans would need to wait anywhere from five to twenty years for a new Terrence Malick film, with the master filmmaker having released six films in the last decade alone. Latter career Malick has been a rough patch for some fans (aside from obvious highlights such as “Tree of Life”) with the director forgoing linear storytelling almost entirely for increasingly esoteric styles with varying results. Regardless, a Malick film is still an event to partake in and while his latest, “A Hidden Life” once again was met with mixed opinions, ours was one signaling it as a triumphant return for the director. Our critic who saw it at Cannes wrote “…Malick attains the status of holy creator here, forging his own lush world of suffering and deliverance.”
Release Date: December 13th
“Uncut Gems”
Cast: Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, Eric Bogosian, LaKeith Stanfield
Synopsis: An electrifying crime thriller about Howard Ratner, a charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score. When he makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime, Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides, in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win.
What You Need to Know: Yes, “Uncut Gems” touts another return to the act of trying for Adam Sandler (in line with films such as “Punch Drunk Love” and “The Meyerowitz Stories”) and, by all accounts, he nails it. But the bigger draw is the return of director pairing The Safdie Brothers following their tremendous 2017 feature “Good Time,” ensuring that the already promising directors (with “Heaven Knows What” being a big indicator of their talent) were ones to desperately keep your eyes peeled for. Luckily for them, they managed to break Sandler out of his comfortable shell to play in their panic-inducing story with supporting turns from Lakeith Stanfield, Idina Menzel, and The Weeknd. Our critic who saw it at Telluride noted that it wasn’t for the faint of heart but the “The Safdie’s arguably don’t know how to make a movie that isn’t dialed up to 11 and isn’t lodged in your throat, but how glorious and unsettling that wildness can be.”
Release Date: December 13th