Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com EW.com
    • All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
    • All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
    • All Music
    • Music Reviews
    • All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
    • All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
    • All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
    • All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
    • All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com EW.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Comic-Con 2022: Stars strike a pose in EW's photo studio

      Comic-Con 2022: Stars strike a pose in EW's photo studio

      From the casts of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever  and The Walking Dead  to Chris Pine and Regé Jean-Page, see who dropped by EW's Comic-Con headquarters at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego. Read More
    • Power players: Inside The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

      Power players: Inside The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

      Go behind the scenes of Amazon Prime Video’s ambitious fantasy epic, which hopes to introduce J.R.R. Tolkien to a new generation. Read More
    • Biggest bombshells in unsealed Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard court docs: Erectile dysfunction, nude photos, and Marilyn Manson

      Biggest bombshells in unsealed Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard court docs: Erectile dysfunction, nude photos, and Marilyn Manson

      Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be more to learn about the high-profile defamation trial, more than 6,000 pages of court docs were released over the weekend. Read More
  • TV

    TV

    See All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See All Music
    • Music Reviews
  • What to Watch

    What to Watch

    See All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • BINGE

    BINGE

    See All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
  • The Awardist

    The Awardist

    See All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Books

    Books

    See All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Gallery
  3. 10 Holiday Movies We're Pumped For

10 Holiday Movies We're Pumped For

''The Lovely Bones,'' ''Avatar,'' and ''Sherlock Holmes'' top our list of most anticipated films of next two months
By Adam Markovitz and Adam B. Vary Updated December 03, 2009 at 05:00 PM EST
Skip gallery slides
FB

1 of 10

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

The Lovely Bones (Dec. 11)

The Lovely Bones, Saoirse Ronan | After the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong , director Peter Jackson scales down his scope — not to mention his budget —…
Credit: Dreamworks

After the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong, director Peter Jackson scales down his scope — not to mention his budget — to adapt Alice Sebold's 2002 best-seller about the murder of a 14-year-old girl (played by Atonement's Saoirse Ronan).
WHY WE'RE EXCITED The perfectly curated cast (including Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, and Susan Sarandon) and atmospheric trailer have us dying to see the final product. Plus, Jackson knows a thing or two about bringing books to the big screen. —AM

1 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 10

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Invictus (Dec. 11)

Invictus, Morgan Freeman | It may have been shut out of Best Picture — guess even with 10 films, there's still only room for one sports movie — but…
Credit: Keith Bernstein

American audiences may be unfamiliar with the true story behind Clint Eastwood's latest film, about a white South African rugby star (Matt Damon) who partnered with the nation's first black president, Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman). Damon, too, had been in the dark. ''I didn't understand how Mandela had used this team to bring the country together [after apartheid],'' says Damon. ''When you talk about that 1995 Rugby World Cup to anybody in South Africa, their eyes tear up.''
WHY WE'RE EXCITED Freeman seems born to play Mandela, and after a long streak of bleak dramas (Gran Torino, The Changeling, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River), it will definitely be nice to see an Eastwood film that's, you know, uplifting. —ABV

2 of 10

3 of 10

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

A Single Man (Dec. 11)

Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, ... | Fashion icon Tom Ford makes his feature debut with this festival favorite about a gay English professor (Colin Firth) reeling after the death of his…

Fashion icon Tom Ford makes his feature debut with this festival favorite about a gay English professor (Colin Firth) reeling after the death of his partner.
WHY WE'RE EXCITED Ford's previous career proved he can weave a good yarn (ba dum ching!), and stylish performances from both Firth and Julianne Moore (who plays a booze-loving Brit) already have Oscar pundits buzzing. —AM

3 of 10

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 10

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Avatar (Dec. 18)

Avatar | This tidal wave of big, loud Hollywood movies that are now even more in-your-face is a charming gimmick at best and annoying at worst. Studios…
Credit: WETA

For months now, we've talked about director James Cameron's 3-D, sci-fi, super-expensive, eco-conscious, the-future-of-movies-is-riding-on-it follow-up to Titanic.
WHY WE'RE EXCITED We actually get to see it. And then start talking about it all over again. —ABV

4 of 10

Advertisement

5 of 10

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Nine (Dec. 18)

Nine, Daniel Day-Lewis, ... | Critics weren't exactly singing its praises. But Penélope Cruz is sassy and sexy (as always) in her supporting turn as a neglected mistress. The film…
Credit: David James

Adapted from the stage musical — itself an adaptation of Federico Fellini's classic 8 1/2 — the movie boasts Daniel Day-Lewis as a struggling director, a parade of Oscar luminaries (Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren and Kate Hudson) and a Black Eyed Pea (Stacy ''Fergie'' Ferguson) as the women in his life, and Chicago director Rob Marshall at the helm.
WHY WERE EXCITED Day-Lewis, Cotillard, Kidman, Cruz, Dench, Loren, Hudson, and Fergie, singing and dancing, all directed by Marshall. Even if it doesn't work, it's going to be something to see. —ABV

5 of 10

6 of 10

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

It's Complicated (Dec. 25)

It's Complicated, Alec Baldwin, ... | Romantic comedy ­auteur Nancy Meyers ( Something's Gotta Give ) directs a grown-up romp that follows a ­divorcee (Meryl Streep), her ex-husband (Alec Baldwin), and…
Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon

Romantic comedy ­auteur Nancy Meyers (Something's Gotta Give) directs a grown-up romp that follows a ­divorcee (Meryl Streep), her ex-husband (Alec Baldwin), and her architect (Steve Martin).
WHY WE'RE EXCITED A Meryl, Alec, Steve, and Nancy package on Christmas Day is better than anything we requested from Santa. —AM

6 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 10

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Sherlock Holmes (Dec. 25)

Jude Law, Robert Downey Jr., ... | Director Guy Ritchie and Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. dust off the legendary super sleuth for a new adventure: Holmes takes on an evil…
Credit: Barry Wetcher

Director Guy Ritchie and Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. dust off the legendary super sleuth for a new adventure: Holmes takes on an evil occultist with the help of his trusty sidekick Watson (Jude Law) and a lovely grifter (Rachel McAdams).
WHY WE'RE EXCITED It's elementary: Downey Jr.'s buffed-up take on Holmes adds some much-needed sex appeal to the old-fashioned detective. —AM

7 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 10

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Up In the Air (Dec. 25)

Up in the Air, George Clooney, ... | George Clooney plays a corporate downsizer obsessed with frequent-flyer miles, and Vera Farmiga ( Orphan ) the fellow traveler with the boarding pass to his…
Credit: Dale Robinette

George Clooney plays a corporate downsizer obsessed with frequent-flyer miles, and Vera Farmiga (Orphan) the fellow traveler with the boarding pass to his heart, in director/co-writer Jason Reitman's encore to Juno.
WHY WE'RE EXCITED A topical adult drama headlined by a genuine movie star is a rare breed, indeed. And from the moment of its first festival screening at Telluride, it's enjoyed some of the loudest Oscar buzz of the year. —ABV

8 of 10

Advertisement

9 of 10

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Youth in Revolt (Jan. 8)

Michael Cera, Youth in Revolt | Michael Cera, Hollywood's go-to guy for undersexed teen roles, is at it again in this adaptation of the 1995 cult-hit novel about an awkward high…
Credit: Bruce Birmelin

Michael Cera, Hollywood's go-to guy for undersexed teen roles, is at it again in this adaptation of the 1995 cult-hit novel about an awkward high schooler who falls for a worldly girl (newcomer Portia Doubleday). But there's a twist: The Juno star also plays Francois, the protagonist's suave alter-ego. For help, the actor went straight to the source material. ''It was nice to turn to the book whenever I had a question about the characters,'' he says. ''They're so vivid. It was right on the page.''
WHY WE'RE EXCITED Since his days on Arrested Development, Cera has demonstrated a real knack for picking good material. And this coming-of-age story looks like the perfect vehicle to carry him from boyish comedies into grown-up fare. —AM

9 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

10 of 10

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

The Book of Eli (Jan. 15)

Denzel Washington, The Book of Eli | In their first feature since 2001's From Hell , the Hughes brothers ( Menace II Society ) give us a postapocalyptic thriller about a nomadic…
Credit: David Lee

In their first feature since 2001's From Hell, the Hughes brothers (Menace II Society) give us a postapocalyptic thriller about a nomadic fighter (Denzel Washington) who may hold the key to humankind's salvation.
WHY WE'RE EXCITED Not to judge this Book by its cover, but the trailer for this action pic has us thinking Mad Max meets Training Day. And that's not a bad thing. —AM

10 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Adam Markovitz and Adam B. Vary

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 10 The Lovely Bones (Dec. 11)
    2 of 10 Invictus (Dec. 11)
    3 of 10 A Single Man (Dec. 11)
    4 of 10 Avatar (Dec. 18)
    5 of 10 Nine (Dec. 18)
    6 of 10 It's Complicated (Dec. 25)
    7 of 10 Sherlock Holmes (Dec. 25)
    8 of 10 Up In the Air (Dec. 25)
    9 of 10 Youth in Revolt (Jan. 8)
    10 of 10 The Book of Eli (Jan. 15)

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message
    EW.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Meredith© Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright EW.com. All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

    View image

    10 Holiday Movies We're Pumped For
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.