BELIEVE THE HYPE?
By Lori Vernon
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be interesting to see how the film does. A new
cast (Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Mads
Mikkelsen), a new director and months of
reshoots probably helped build the hype, but
can it live up to its predecessors?
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Jackie
Director: Pablo Larraín
December 2 • R
The story follows a grieving Jacqueline
Kennedy (Natalie Portman) as she examines her
husband's (John Carroll Lynch) legacy as the
nation mourns his death. Awards Buzz: Best
Actress, Best Picture, Best Director.
Miss Sloane
Director: John Madden
December 9 • R
Elizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain) is the most
sought after lobbyist in D.C. She does whatever
is takes to win - including bending the rules. But
when she takes on the most powerful gun lobby
she finds herself the target of powerful new enemies who threaten not only her career, but those
she loves. Awards Buzz: Best Actress.
La La Land
D
ecember gives us another crop of the
year’s most buzz-worthy awards season front runne rs trying to sneak in
before the end of year deadlines. While those
include probable nominees like Fences, 20th
Century Women and La La Land, we’ll also see
the highly anticipated release of the newest
Star Wars film, Rogue One, and the video
game-adaptation of Assassin’s Creed. Here’s a
snippet of what you’ll find in theaters this
month.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Director: Gareth Edwards
December 16 • PG-13
The latest in the Star Wars Anthology, a
stand-alone story set between Revenge of the Sith
and A New Hope follows a group of Rebellion
fighters planning to steal the schematics for the
Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon. The
first film set outside of J.J. Abrams new trilogy,
it features the adventures of ordinary heroes
doing extraordinary things. That’s right, no Jedi
to save the day, just regular folks making a
stand against evil. While nothing could top the
16 illinoisentertainer.com december 2016
Director: Damien Chazelle
December 9 • PG-13
A struggling musician (Ryan Gosling) and
aspiring actress (Emma Stone) are drawn
together by their common desire to do what
they love in a town that crushes hopes and
breaks hearts. Awards Buzz: Best Actor, Best
Actress, Best Picture, Best Director.
Assassin’s Creed
Director: Justin Kurzel
December 21 • PG-13
Assassin’s Creed introduces Callum Lynch
(Michael Fassbender) who is kidnapped and
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y
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in time and relive the adventures of his ancestor,
Aguilar, who retrieved valuable artifacts in
exotic locations.
Passengers
Director: Morten Tyldum
December 21 • PG-13
On a routine journey a sleep pod mistakenly awakens a passenger (Chris Pratt) too soon.
Rather than be alone, he wakes another passenger (Jennifer Lawrence). They soon discover
they’re in grave danger and the lives of 5,000
sleeping passengers hang in the balance.
Awards Buzz: Best Actress, Best Picture, Best
Director.
20th Century Women
Director: Mike Mills
December 25 • R
In 1979, a determined single mom (Annette
Bening) raises her adolescent son at a time brimming with cultural change and rebellion. She
enlists two younger women – a free-spirited
punk artist (Greta Gerwig) and a savvy,
provocative teenager (Elle Fanning) -- to help
with her son’s upbringing. Awards Buzz: Best
Picture, Best Actress (Bening), Best Supporting
Actress (Gerwig), Best Director.
Fences
Director: Denzel Washington
December 25 •Unrated
Now working as a garbage collector in 1950s
Pittsburgh, a former baseball star (Denzel
Washington) creates tension in his family when
he crushes his son's dream of playing college
football. Also starring Viola Davis. Awards
Buzz: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor,
Best Supporting Actress.
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