Top 5 – Awesome Movies Coming Out in December

Well, here we are, the final month of 2016.  It is amazing how fast the year has gone.  But, we’re here, and we are ending the year with a bang.  There are so many great movies coming out in December, narrowing it down to five was nearly impossible.  This month is so loaded, I had to leave off anticipated titles like Sing, Assassins Creed, Passengers, A Monster Calls, and Why Him?.  But, of all the movies coming out this month, these stand tall as the most exciting titles, which include blockbusters, Oscar frontrunners, and the best movie that I have seen in 2016.

So here we go, my most anticipated movies coming out in December.

5 – ROUGE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (Gareth Edwards, December 16)

You know it’s a loaded month when a Star Wars film is number five on this list.  Rouge One is the first Star Wars film not part of the other seven films, but it does bring back some familiar pieces in Darth Vader, Mon Mothma, and the Death Star.  Usually, the more trailers a movie has, the more they reveal about the movie and usually spoil a lot it.  But this is the rare case where the more Rouge One trailers dropped, the more and more excited I got.  This looks like a full on war movie and has the always excellent Felicity Jones at the forefront.  This is going to be a new take on a legendary franchise and the most intriguing title of this month.

4 – LIVE BY NIGHT (Ben Affleck, December 25)

Ben Affleck is back in the director’s chair, and that is all I need to put this movie on the list.  It also helps that it is a gangster movie that looks like The Town (2010) set in the 1920’s.  This is Affleck’s first directorial effort since his 2012 Oscar winner, Argo.  As a director, Affleck is three for three, and they are a strong three, with the aforementioned The Town, Argo, and his debut, Gone Baby Gone (2007), which is one of the most underrated movies of this millennium.  Also, Affleck being the headlining actor is exciting, as he has become quite a strong actor as of late.  Let’s hope Live By Night keeps Affleck’s streak of directing excellence on track.

3 – FENCES (Denzel Washington, December 25)

Now we’re getting into the thick of things.  I could have made a case for either of the next three to be number one on this list.  The fact that Fences lands at number three should tell you something.  Based on the Tony Award winning play, Fences stars Denzel Washington and Viola Davis as a married couple struggling with race-relations and while also trying to keep their family intact.  This is Washington’s third directorial effort, after Antwone Fisher (2003), and The Great Debaters (2007), and it looks like his most polished work yet.  The trailers promise an emotionally powerful, acting tour-de-force from Washington and Davis that is sure to be a big player come Oscar time.

2 – SILENCE (Martin Scorsese, December 23)

Up until last week, I was getting real skeptical about this movie coming out.  With a release date, no trailer, and limited buzz, it looked like this was on path to becoming a 2017 film.  But, we finally got a trailer and my Lord, does it look as epic as ever.  This Martin Scorsese passion project follows two Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) in search for their master (Liam Neeson) in hostile Japan.  The last Scorsese passion project was Gangs of New York (2002), and that is one of the most important and influential movies of my life.  The movie looks visually stunning and haunting, filled with Scorsese’s shocking violence and compelling characters.  Scorsese is my favorite director of all-time, and this looks like yet another classic.

1 – LA LA LAND (Damien Chazelle, December 9)

On almost any other day, a Martin Scorsese movie would be number one on every list I make.  However, this time, it is different, as La La Land is simply the best movie I have seen all year.  I am going to keep this short, as my full review will be dropping shortly, but this is everything you want in a movie.  It is a sweet, funny, moving, magical experience and one of the best musicals I have ever seen.  It is a perfect ode of classic Hollywood with a perfect modern twist.  I loved everything about this movie and you will too.  See it opening weekend and be blown away.

What movies coming out in December are you excited for?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, and on Facebook and YouTube by searching Kevflix.