Christmastime is here and like millions of other families, it’s the time for presents, good food, egg nog, basketball .. and movies.
After the presents are opened, and the Christmas ham gets sliced, you have your choice of things to keep you entertained. If you’re like me, you’re probably going to hit the movies.
Luckily for you, this year there are a bunch of great movies to choose from. There’s Les Miserables, Django Unchained, Promised Land and more.
I’ve been hitting up all the private screenings to figure out which movies are worth seeing and which movies you can skip. So check out my top flicks that are worth your 15 bucks!
The first movie I’m going to recommend is Django Unchained, directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson and many more big names. The movie is set in the age of American slavery and focuses around Dr. King Shultz, a German bounty hunter, who is in search of some wanted men. The only thing is, he needs the help of a slave named Django, played by Jamie Foxx. Once Dr. Shultz finds Django, he takes him under his wing, asking him to help find the wanted men, and in turn, he’ll give Django his freedom and help him find his wife Broomhilda.
With the plot set in this spaghetti western remake, the movie really gets off to a bang, as Django and Dr. Shultz travel around America, killing bad guys and challenging social norms. It’s highly entertaining, the script is written perfectly and Tarantino’s use of music in the film is simply brilliant. This movie is worth your money and you might want to go back and see it again. Check out the clip above to see Dr. Shultz and Django getting dirty.
From one slave movie to another, the next movie I’ll recommend is the musical Les Miserables. Set in 19th century France, Jean Valjean, played by Hugh Jackman, spent 19 years as a slave of the law and Javert, played by Russell Crowe, for stealing a loaf of bread. The movie kicks off on the day he gets his parole, but instead of freedom, Valjean quickly finds he’s still a slave to his parole.
So he tears up the parole paper and goes on the run and changes his life.
After Valjean’s transformation, he comes back in contact with Javert, who is hell-bent on sending him back to jail for skipping out on parole. Add in Fantine, played by Anne Hathaway, who gets Valjean to take care of her daughter, and this movie provides you with all types of emotion. It’s funny, sad, action packed, and it’s like candy for your ears. The music in this film is great and if you’re hip-hop head, you’ll think about who can sample it and make a hot track! It’s a bit long, but the movie doesn’t come off as a boring musical.
Lastly, Promised Land, starring Matt Damon and John Krasinski. If you like indie films with great acting, then this movie is for you. It’s about a salesman for a natural gas company who experiences a few life-changing events after arriving in a small town, where his corporation tries to give people bands to make ’em dance, so that they can tap into the available gas resources. This movie has some high moments and a few lows, but you do find yourself feeling for the characters in this well written Anytown, USA flick – especially when you get the the big payoff at the end of the film.
