While fall technically runs until late December, the fall movie season gives way to the holiday movie season as of this week. With all the holiday breaks in these next two months, movie studios are vying for your extra free time and money to spend at the local cineplex. Let's see what they have to offer this year.

November 21

Hunger Games- Mockingjay - Part 1

The holiday season kicks off with pretty much the pre-destined box office winner of the season (and probably the whole year) right away. I only wish it followed the Harry Potter/Twilight model of releasing the next part during the summer. Waiting a full year for Part 2 is too long.

NOVEMBER 26

Horrible Bosses 2

This time, the guys switch crimes from murder to kidnapping. The first film was a surprise summer hit, and was a pretty funny movie on its own. The risk with the sequel is that it doesn't repeat the entire plot and turn into another Hangover-type disappointment. 

Penguins of Madagascar

While there have been some good animated movies released, it does seem like a down year for the genre overall. Spinning off an entire movie based on some side characters from a popular franchise sums up this year in animation pretty well. More fresh ideas are needed here.

DECEMBER 12

Exodus: Gods and Kings

Earlier this year, Hollywood took a stab at adapting the biblical story of Noah and found some pretty decent box office success. Now Ridley Scott is going to give his version of the story of Moses. This looks like a much more faithful adaptation than Aronofsky's Noah but that could be to a fault since this story has been told so many times already.

DECEMBER 17

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

I'm so torn on this one because I actually enjoyed the first Hobbit film, but then I watched the second and completely hated it. Nothing happened in that movie, as they saved all the good stuff for this final film. That being said, since there is less filler to get in the way, I could be interested in checking it out one last time.

DECEMBER 19

Annie

The first of two major movie musical releases this holiday, it's the third movie adaptation of the 70's Broadway musical, and like John Huston's 1982 film, this movie loads up with an all-star cast. Whether the depression era story will translate to modern times is a bigger question.

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

The third film in this franchise may also be the last with the passing of Robin Williams who was key to the success of the other movies. This also marks Mickey Rooney's final film as he passed away after shooting as well. The previous Museum movies have each grossed over $400 million worldwide, so look for similar success from this installment.

DECEMBER 25

The Interview

It's time for another action comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco. The plot for this one is even more bizarre than for their previous hits Pineapple Express and This is the End, but the success of those movies and the controversy surrounding this one may prove to make it a surprise hit.

Into the Woods

Capping everything off is the second big feature film musical in as many weeks. This one has a seasoned musical director in Rob Marshall at the helm and a stellar cast headed by multiple Oscar winner Meryl Streep. In an interesting twist, Marshall directed the second Annie film adaptation for TV in 1999, and now his film may affect the third adaptation as they fight for similar audiences.


That does it for the holiday movies and for 2014 as a whole. I'll return for the 2015 winter movie preview, but until then, rank the holiday movies below and earn more VOG points! See you next year.