Holiday Movie Preview: From 'Joy' to 'Star Wars,' this season has something for everyone

In the 1950s, Irish immigrant Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) sets out to make a new life for herself in America. She eventually falls in love with Italian-American Tony (Emory Cohen), but when tragedy brings her back to the Emerald Isle, sparks fly with a local man, Jim (Domhnall Gleeson). The film, based on the novel by Colm Tóibín, is more than a swoony romance. Lacey isn't so much choosing between men, says Ronan, but "the life that each of them represents." —C. Molly Smith

When the Boston Globe reported on a series of child sex-abuse allegations in the Catholic Church in 2002, the investigation blew open a cover-up spanning decades and earned the paper a Pulitzer — and now, a movie. “I consider it one of the great investigative journalistic moments of this century,” says writer-director Tom McCarthy (The Visitor). “It’s a story that people need to hear." —Devan Coggan

Director Sam Mendes can only see Skyfall in terms of unfinished business. “Bond has been rebooted at the end of the movie,” Mendes says. “This is only the beginning of the story ... You’re sort of telling the story backwards of how Bond became Bond.” Enter Christoph Waltz as Oberhauser, mastermind of the titular shadowy criminal syndicate. Describing himself to Bond as “the author of all your pain,” Oberhauser wields a mysterious connection to the superspy’s past and imperils 007’s love interest (Léa Seydoux). “A lot of the film is a celebration of what it is to be Bond,” Daniel Craig says. —Chris Lee

When an institution like Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip gets the big-screen treatment, audiences tend to resist. Director Steve Martino (Ice Age: Continental Drift), at least, knew it was coming. “Fans were going to hear ‘computer animation’ and ‘Pea- nuts,’ and have their guns loaded,” he says. Still he forged on undeterred, and with the help of Schulz’s sons Craig and Bryan, both writers on the film, the production went to great lengths to re-create the feel of the original strip, even digitizing the artist’s drawings of rain and Pigpen’s dirt cloud. —Kevin P. Sullivan

Dalton Trumbo, the writer of Roman Holiday and Spartacus and the man who effectively broke the anti-Communist Hollywood blacklist of the 1950s, could be reduced to a series of idiosyncrasies. Because Trumbo was a generously mustachioed chain-smoker who often wrote in the bathtub, Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) feared his performance could easily slip into caricature. "I told Trumbo's daughters that I had no intention of doing an impersonation of him," Cranston says. "But his mannerisms were so striking that I ended up sounding more like him than I intended." —Kevin P. Sullivan

When she was approached to direct The 33, an intense reenactment of the 2010 Chilean mine collapse, Patricia Riggen thought, "I loved that they were considering a female director for a movie about mines and drills and men in boots and hard hats." The Mexican filmmaker behind 2007's Under the Same Moon doubled down by shooting the movie not on a soundstage but in real salt mines. "Thirty-five days, six-day weeks, 14-hour days," she says. "I wanted to give us all a taste of what it's like to be a miner."

For his directorial debut, Paul Bettany set himself a serious challenge. "Something you'll notice making a movie about a junkie and a Muslim immigrant," he says, "is that people won't give you lots of money." At least Anthony Mackie and Jennifer Connelly, who play a homeless couple, were up to the task. And Connelly, Bettany's wife, proved a crucial presence on set. "She couldn't trust me as a director because she had no frame of reference," Bettany says. "But she knew that she could kick the s--- out of me for the next 20 years if I got it wrong." —Kevin P. Sullivan

Angelina Jolie Pitt also wrote and directed this film about an estranged married couple struggling with grief. “We watch this couple go off the track and we wait to see if it gets more unhealthy, or if they will recover,” she says. “I think too often people go through very painful transformative experiences and they don’t stay together. They abandon each other.” The reverse was true for the newly wedded stars. “It wasn't easy for either of us," she says, "but when we walked away, we were closer than we had been.” —Sara Vilkomerson

Tom Hardy stars as infamous 1960s London gangsters, and twin brothers, Ronald and Reginald Kray. Writer-director Brian Helgeland (42) initially met with Hardy about playing only Reggie (right), whose relationship with his wife, Frances (Emily Browning), is the emotional heart of the film. Hardy was more interested in Ron (left), who was gay and more extroverted than his twin, if also psychotically violent. “From the time Tom sat down, all he was talking about was Ron," says Helgeland. At the end, Tom said, ‘I’ll give you Reggie if you give me Ron.’ ” —Clark Collis

In the final installment of The Hunger Games, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) takes her fight to areas of Panem’s seat of power that have never appeared on screen. The 3-D hologram used by Katniss and her rebel allies to plan their path to President Snow’s mansion may feel a little... French. “Anyone who really knows Paris will find quadrants of the map that look very familiar,” director Lawrence says. The wide avenues and well-defined arrondissements won’t help Katniss much, though. “The route is severely booby-trapped.” —Nicole Sperling

Julia Roberts plays Jess, a district-attorney investigator who is forced to relive a gruesome tragedy — the rape and murder of her teenage daughter — after her former partner (Chiwetel Ejiofor) summons up new intel on the case 13 years later. "Julia went to a place in this movie that I've never seen her go before," director Billy Ray says. It undoubtedly helped that her husband, Danny Moder, served as the film's cinematographer. "It actually became crucial for me for him to be there," Roberts admits. "I don't know if I would have been as willing to make myself that vulnerable if it weren't for the fact that the safest place I know in the world was across the room." —Marc Snetiker

Don't forget to breathe as you watch Todd Haynes' incurably romantic Carol, based on a Patricia Highsmith novel about a shy shopgirl (Rooney Mara) and her relationship with a married woman (Cate Blanchett) in 1952. The movie, which has been adored at film festivals, is a favorite for Oscar nominations in top categories. Blanchett lavishes all the credit for that onto Haynes (Far From Heaven), who directed her in I'm Not There. "I'm very stimulated by visuals and music," she says, "and that's how Todd invites you into the atmosphere of the film. It's an incredible thing that he's done. He's an absolute master." —Joe McGovern

Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Anthony Mackie reunite on Christmas Eve, and the night spirals further than either intends. They indulge in drugs, drink, and all things desirous — and even encounter the real Miley Cyrus! There's an emotional part, too, though you may not expect that. Director Jonathan Levine says they made sure to respect it: "The holidays are a wonderful time, but they're also reflective and bittersweet," though at Christmas the sad emotions definitely take a backseat. Levine says the film doesn't dwell on things that are crappy: "Our number-one goal was to make people laugh and smile and be happy." —Anthony Breznican

In this Rocky spin-off, the Italian Stallion (Sylvester Stallone) is coaxed out of retirement to aid boxer Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), Apollo's son. The upstart is prepping for a championship bout, for which he's overmatched. Cue underdog triumphalism. "The movie is not Rocky VII," says director/co-writer Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station). "It was important that this was something that stood on its own. But Rocky is in it. And he's not just decoration." —Chris Lee

What if the giant asteroid that theoretcially killed the dinosaurs missed? The Good Dinosaur answers that question in this classic boy-and-his-dog tale with a twist: The boy is an apatosaurus named Arlo (Raymond Ochoa), and his dog is a feral human kid named Spot (Jack Bright). But there's another key character in Pixar's 16th film: Mother Nature. "Nature itself won't literally be a character where you see it smiling or anything," says longtime studio artist and first-time feature director Peter Sohn. "But you get the concept that nature is alive, and there's a good side to it and a bad side to it." —Devan Coogan

Based loosely on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein from a script by Max Landis (American Ultra), the new film finds a young Dr. Frankenstein (McAvoy) bringing life back to the dead with help from his trusty assistant Igor (Radcliffe). “It’s about creation, and Victor is not only creating this monster but in a sense Igor, who in the beginning of the movie is living in abject conditions and considered less than human,” Radcliffe said. —Christopher Rosen

Based on David Ebershoff’s historical novel and directed by Oscar winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech), the movie stars Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) as Lili Elbe, who was living as a man Denmark in 1882 and transitioned to female in the 1920s with the support of her wife, artist Gerda Wegener (Ex Machina’s Alicia Vikander). Elbe is widely considered the first person to have undergone gender-confirmation surgery. “When I first read the script, I wept three times,” Hooper says. “I was moved by the power of love as an agent of transformation, even when the world was against it.” —Joe McGovern

As part of his vision, director Justin Kurzel chose to depict Macbeth (Michael Fassbender) and Lady Macbeth (Marion Cotillard) as broken people mourning the death of their infant child who find ambition a worthy outlet for their grief. "Justin had picked out a few things that really unlocked a lot of the character — the idea of Macbeth having post-traumatic stress disorder," Fassbender says. "For me, it was such a massive breakthrough." The result is a more visceral retelling of the story of the man who would be king, one that shows the play's offstage battles in gory detail. —Kevin P. Sullivan

In a movie of gorgeous mountain scenery, thumping with an eclectic soundtrack of pop and opera, Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel star as a famous retired composer and a fading film director, respectively. Both men are forced to confront their pasts, thanks to the women in their lives. Rachel Weisz plays Caine's daughter, and Jane Fonda — practically unrecognizable in fireball lipstick and a Marilyn Monroe wig — appears in a delirious cameo as Keitel's thunderous onetime muse. —Joe McGovern

Right after Anchorman 2, director Adam McKay was asked what his dream project was. Answer: The Big Short, Michael Lewis' dissection of the 2008 mortgage meltdown. Brad Pitt's company handed McKay the reins, and an all-star cast signed on, including McKay pal Steve Carell, who'd just earned an Oscar nod for Foxcatcher. ("He has slowly developed a British accent, which no one calls out, and he's very full of himself," jokes McKay.) If McKay hits that Moneyball/Blind Side sweet spot, Oscar voters might want to hedge their bets. —Jeff Labrecque

For Ron Howard’s new, based-on-real-events historical epic, Chris Hemsworth plays 19th-century seaman Owen Chase, first mate of whaling ship The Essex. Based on the story that inspired Moby Dick, the movie details how the crew of the Essex attempted to survive the elements and lack of food in tiny, lifeboat-size vessels after one of the very creatures they were hunting destroyed their craft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. —Clark Collis

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler play — what else — sisters who throw one last blowout after discovering their parents plan to sell the family home. “[My character] kind of loses her mind as the party goes on,” Poehler says. “I got to break through ceilings and watch trees smash through houses and drunkenly mouth off to a cop. It’s fantasy camp for a 40-something-year-old woman.” —Sara Vilkomerson

What we know so far: There is no peace in the heavens. The Empire has morphed into a junta called the First Order, while X-wing pilots like Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron now fly for a splinter group known as the Resistance. Not only are Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Luke (Mark Hamill) returning, but Harrison Ford's Han Solo will be one of the leads, along with desert scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley, above) and runaway stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega). On Team Dark Side are Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), the First Order's General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), and chrome-armored officer Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie). —Anthony Breznican

The new Chipmunks sequel is gambling that some of those opening-weekend Star Wars screenings will be sold out and that the spillover — and a younger skewing audience — will gravitate towards the old-school antics of Alvin and co. The boys worry that Dave (Jason Lee) is flying to New York to pop the question to his new girlfriend — hence, abandoning them — so they hit the road to stop him. 

Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay play a married couple whose 45th wedding celebration is thrown a wrinkle when a decades-old splinter in their relationship breaks through the surface and causes them to reconsider what they thought they knew about each other. Both actors were honored for their performances at the Berlin Film Festival, where the film debuted, and could be Academy contenders if the film gets enough eyeballs. 

Where to Invade Next isn’t the indictment of American militarism that its title implies. In fact, it ends up being something much different and more heartfelt. Michael Moore travels across the globe (mostly Europe, but also far-flung places like Tunisia) and, with an air of mock astonishment, shows us how much better other countries treat women, minorities, and families. In each case, he talks to locals and after hearing how simple their prescriptions for happiness are, he plants an American flag on their soil and argues that his invading documentary team wants to bring them back to America to fix what’s broken at home. —Chris Nashawaty

Concussion is based on the true story of how Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist, discovered a degenerative brain disease seen primarily in pro football players and concluded that it was caused by repeated blows to the head. The movie dramatizes the fallout and depicts the National Football League threatening, intimidating, and attempting to discredit the doctor and his wife, Prema (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). That's tough material for a football junkie, but Will Smith concluded that fatherhood trumped fandom. "As a parent, the responsibility to bring this information to light was overwhelming," he says. "I almost couldn't say no." —Nicole Sperling

When Quentin Tarantino casts a film, he doesn't just cast an actor — he casts an entire career. "He owns a copy of the first movie I ever made, called Eyes of a Stranger," says Jennifer Jason Leigh. "So often people just think of the last three things you've done and that's who you are now, but for Quentin, something I did at 23 is still me today." Leigh plays Daisy Domergue, a notorious outlaw on her way to the gallows courtesy of Kurt Russell's walrus-mustached bounty hunter. Her odds shift when the handcuffed pair become blizzard-bound with men of dubious intent. Those nefarious six include Tarantino stalwarts Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, and Michael Madsen.  —Keith Staskiewicz

The recipe for the original Point Break called for equal parts testosterone, sea spray, and surf-Zen mumbo jumbo. This extreme-sports remake tries to keep the ratios similar, but on a much larger scale. It's still the story of Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey), the implausibly all-American FBI agent who infiltrates a gang of wave riders and larcenists headed by the charismatic Bodhi (Édgar Ramírez) — only now, in this globe-hopping update, it has gone international. "The original was mostly set in and around SoCal," says director Ericson Core (Invincible). "When we filmed, we were a roving band of gypsies traveling all over the world." —Keith Staskiewicz

Tom Hardy is best known for his portrayals of brooding, intense, even savage men. In Alejandro G. Iñárritu's The Revenant, he costars as John Fitzgerald, the mercenary fur trapper who abandons Leonardo DiCaprio's Hugh Glass in unforgiving 19th-century terrain. Making the film was grueling, by all accounts. Iñárritu insisted on shooting in often freezing temperatures in the wilds of Calgary and Tierra del Fuego and pushed his actors and crew to extremes. "He's unlike any director I've ever worked with," Hardy says. "He sees things how he sees them, so to give him back what he wants is quite an interesting experience. It could drive you f---ing nuts." —Nicole Sperling

He has tackled soldiers (Three Kings), boxers (The Fighter), and con artists (American Hustle), but Joy — about the tumultuous rise of one entrepreneurial woman (Jennifer Lawrence) over 30 years — is the first time David O. Russell has made a film with a woman front and center. "It's a meditation on what the word joy means, and also despair and struggle and failure and success," he says. It's his third outing with Lawrence, but it felt new to both of them. "She's usually sort of the sneak attack from the wings," he says. "This is the one where her heart is the whole thing." —Sara Vilkomerson

When a father (Mark Wahlberg) suddenly has to compete for the affections of his two kids against their new stepdad (Will Ferrell), things go off the rails pretty fast. Written and directed by Sean Anders and John Morris, who co-wrote Horrible Bosses 2, the film includes a scene, shot at halftime during a Pelicans-Lakers basketball game in New Orleans, where Ferrell's character takes a half-court shot to impress his wife (Linda Cardellini) but beans a cheerleader instead. Aaaand someone apparently forgot to warn the crowd. "The sound of the entire stadium was like a giant gasp," Cardellini says. —C. Molly Smith

The beautiful mind of Charlie Kaufman has never been so animated. The Being John Malkovich writer's 2005 "sound play," about a depressed customer-service guru (David Thewlis) who's jarred from his stupor by the angel-voiced Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh), has been translated into stop-motion animation, complete with puppet copulation. "There's no intention to make puppet sex a joke," Kaufman says. "Every effort was made to make that intimate and real." And delightfully awkward, of course. —Jeff Labrecque