Film Playing
this winter December
Anomalisa Dirs. Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson. 2015. R. Jennifer Jason Leigh, David Thewlis, Tom Noonan. Seven years after Kaufman gave us Synecdoche, New York, the idiosyncratic writer and director takes a crack at stop- motion. Since debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival, Anomalisa has been praised as a masterpiece that explores sexuality (there is puppet sex), depression and humanity. Opens Dec 30
Concussion Dir. Peter Landesman. 2015. PG-13. Will Smith, Alec Baldwin. In the middle of football season, this medical drama puts the darker consequences of the sport in the spotlight. The thriller from Parkland director Peter Landesman tells the true story of American immigrant Dr. Bennet Omalu (Smith), who discovered the football-related degenerative disease CTE, and took on the NFL. The film may have been watered down in the end to appease the NFL, but we’re hoping it still has teeth. Opens Dec 25
In the Heart of the Sea Dir. Ron Howard. 2015. PG-13. Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy. Ron Howard is back in a big way with another historical narrative. The film focuses on the crew behind the
I Music Box Theatre
1820 Essex ship attacked by a massive sperm whale and left adrift for 90 days. The incident is best known as the inspiration for Moby- Dick. Opens Dec 11
Krampus Dir. Michael Dougherty. 2015. Toni Collette, Adam Scott, David Koechner. This is the ultimate nightmare before Christmas: A young boy whose dysfunctional family saps his holiday spirit invokes the demon-beast Krampus—an anti-St. Nick who punishes bad kids by kidnapping them and taking them to hell. Widely celebrated in Europe, the folkloric figure gets some American screen time here, ensuring very few silent nights. Opens Dec 4
Sisters Dir. Jason Moore. 2015. R. Tina Fey, Amy Poehler. After Baby Mama failed to deliver back in 2008, comedy’s favorite female power duo, Poehler and Fey, team up on the big screen again, this time as reckless sisters keen to throw one last epic party in their childhood home before it’s deeded to new owners. We’ve got big expectations that this party comedy, scripted by Paula Pell (SNL), holds nothing back and lets Fey and Poehler go balls to the wall. Opens Dec 18
January
The Finest Hours Dir. Craig Gillespie. 2016. Chris Pine, Eric Bana. You might think you’ve already seen this “perfect storm,” but not with these state-of-the-art special effects, which turn one of the most harrowing real-life rescue missions into an epic visual feat. The action-packed drama retells the Coast Guard rescue of 30 seamen aboard an oil tanker ripped apart by the nor’easter that hit the coast of Cape Cod in 1952. Opens Jan 29
NATHAN G., LAKEVIEW “The Music Box Theatre is cozy and hosts great events. Its curated screenings never disappoint. “
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Kung Fu Panda 3 Dirs. Alessandro Carloni, Jennifer Yuh. 2016. Voiced by Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman. The third time’s another charm for lovable Po (voiced by Black), who meets his biological father and is introduced to a secret panda haven where he does not fit in. Arranged marriages, kung fu fighting and an evil spirit threatening China turn the Dreamworks sequel up a notch, promising to keep this as one of the most successful animated franchises. Opens Jan 29
The Lady in the Van Dir. Nicholas Hytner. 2015. PG-13. Maggie Smith,
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TIMEOUT.COM/CHICAGO December 2015–February 2016
Alex Jennings. Scripted by prolific playwright and screenwriter Alan Bennett, this touching film, adapted from his play of the same name, tells the story of Bennett’s real-life friendship with Mary Shepherd, an eccentric homeless woman played with humor and heart by Smith. The feel-good memoir, shot in Bennett’s former London home, just might be the kind of warm and fuzzy film we’ll want to turn to this holiday season. Opens Jan 15
Norm of the North Dir. Trevor Wall. 2016. Voiced by Rob Schneider, Ken Jeong, Heather Graham. A cartoon for the whole family with a pointed political message. Norm is a polar bear whose Arctic home is at risk of being turned into a suburban megacomplex. Accompanied by his three lemming pals, he heads to New York City, where he becomes entangled with the corporation that’s after his home. Opens Jan 15
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi Dir. Michael Bay. 2016. John Krasinski, Pablo Schreiber. It’s the movie Hillary doesn’t want you to see. Based on the book, 13 Hours, by Mitchell Zuckoff, the film centers on the events of September 11, 2012, when militants attacked two U.S. compounds in Libya, leaving the American ambassador and three others dead and pitting the Secretary of State against a court of public opinion. With Bay at the helm, expect it to be heavy on action, if not on the mind. Opens Jan 15
February
Ben-Hur Dir. Timur Bekmambetov. 2016. Jack Huston, Morgan Freeman, Nazanin Boniadi. A remake of one of the greatest movies of all time might have some people already scoffing, but there could be merit to this new iteration. Bekmambetov promises his film will focus less on reconceiving the 1959 chariot classic and more on reexamining the 1880 novel by Lew Wallace. With Boardwalk Empire’s very underrated Huston paired with Freeman as Sheik Ilderim, we could have an Oscar race on our hands. Opens Feb 26
Deadpool Dir. Tim Miller. 2016. Morena Baccarin, Ryan Reynolds, Gina Carano. The smart-ass, smart- mouthed Deadpool gets his own spinoff following his silver-screen debut in X-Men Origins: Wolverine,
which will further attempt to explain his complex genesis from Marvel super-villain to antihero. Since the trailer leaked at Comic-Con, we’ve been pumped to see Reynolds do what he does best: crack wise and kick ass. Opens Feb 12
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Dir. Burr Steers. 2016. Lily James, Lena Headey, Matt Smith. Jane Austen’s classic novel gets a bloody facelift as the entangled lovers battle for their hearts and lives in an alternate universe run amok with zombies. Based on the popular novel, the chick flick/horror mash-up comes just in time for Valentine’s Day. Opens Feb 5
Race Dir. Stephen Hopkins. 2016. Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis, Jeremy Irons. Eighty years after Jesse Owens triumphantly won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics during the height of Nazi Germany’s Aryan Nation propaganda, he’s getting his own biopic. Stephan James, fresh off his role as civil rights activist John Lewis in Selma, will portray the famous athlete. Opens Feb 19
Zoolander 2 Dir. Ben Stiller. 2016. Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell. Start practicing your best Blue Steel. Selfie inventor Derek Zoolander and supermodel accomplice Hansel hit the runway again after a 15-year hiatus, back to ponder life’s biggest questions, like “If God exists, then why did he make ugly people?” Stiller and Wilson reprise their roles while actor Justin Theroux tries his hand at the screenplay. Opens Feb 12
Special screening
30th Annual Music Box Christmas Show The nine-day holiday movie extravaganza returns with two of our favorite classic seasonal films. Croon along with Bing Crosby and friends (c’mon, you know the words) at one of the many White Christmas screenings, and join Jimmy Stewart’s iconic George Bailey as he learns what the world would be like without him at one of the screenings of It’s a Wonderful Life. Music Box Theatre, 3733 N Southport Ave (773-871-6607,
musicboxtheatre.com). Dec 11–25
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Film
PHOTOGRAPH: MAX HERMAN
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