If going to the movies on Christmas Day is as much of a tradition in your family as huddling together on the couch to watch It’s a Wonderful Life (or Gremlins!) or leaving some rum balls out for Santa (because snickerdoodles just won’t cut it), San Antonio theaters should be as busy as workshops full of elves assembling the last batch of Disney Frozen playsets with five new movies debuting across town December 25. By press time (and right after Sony pulled their release of The Interview in fear of nuclear war), the Current got the chance to check out four of the films (excluding The Gambler because remakes make baby Jesus cry) to let moviegoers know which of them are naughty and which are nice.
Big Eyes
After a pair of forgettable projects in Dark Shadows and Alice in Wonderland, filmmaker Tim Burton redeems himself with his most authentic film since 1994’s Ed Wood. In this likeable biopic about artist Margaret Keane (Amy Adams), best known during the 1950s for her paintings of doe-eyed children, Burton avoids oversaturating his audience with style and instead focuses on the relationship between Keane and her charming albeit compulsive husband Walter (Christoph Waltz), who convinces his better half that he should take credit for her popular paintings since people aren’t interested in buying “lady art.” While the screenplay tends to bow down to Waltz’s larger-than-life character whenever possible, the themes of losing one’s identity by giving up something that defines who they are as a human being is delivered with enough sincerity, one can forgive the narration pitfalls. Burton strays slightly from his wheelhouse, but it’s a welcomed change of pace. 3 Stars
The Imitation Game
One of two WWII-based dramas to hit theaters Christmas Day is the story of Alan Turing, a British mathematician and cryptanalyst recognized for solving the Enigma code (Nazi Germany’s so-called shatterproof internal communication system) by building a machine that could decipher their secret messages, which help lead the Allied forces to victory. As Turing, Benedict Cumberbatch creates a true-to-life character layered by both his astonishing ability as an intellect and a series of unsympathetic personality traits not ideal for someone leading a team of code breakers. Working from a script adapted from the biography Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges, Norwegian director Morten Tyldum occasionally settles on conventional biopic devices, but doesn’t allow the narrative to lose any momentum as we see the results of Turing’s contribution to the war and the moral dilemmas he faces during those trying years. 3.5 Stars
Into the Woods
With this musical fantasy, director Rob Marshall (Chicago) probably has the goose that lays the golden egg when it comes to the box office this holiday season, but it’s hard to come up with a substantial reason to visit with this mishmash of classic fairytale characters (Cinderella, Rapunzel, etc.). Adapted from James Lapine and Stephen Sondeim’s Broadway play, Into the Woods is a misfire on almost every level (this coming from someone who knows his fair share of kitschy show tunes). By the time Johnny Depp comes out in full Johnny Depp mode (he’s wearing wolf whiskers and singing about “plump pink flesh” while salivating over Little Red Riding Hood), audiences will wonder who this film is actually for. Fans of the stage play might have an invested interest, but with the exception of a few technical achievements (art direction, costume design and make-up), this isn’t a musical with anything to say (much less sing). 1.5 Stars
Unbroken
As inspirational as any real-life war biography can get, the survival story of Olympic athlete and WWII POW Louis “Louie” Zamperini, who sadly passed away this year at the age of 97, is the kind of hero-worshipping film that would be difficult for any patriotic American to resist. Spanning from Zamperini’s childhood to the end of WWII, Unbroken features Jack O’Connell as Zamperini during his time as an Olympic track star to his service in the U.S. military where he survived a plane crash, 47 days in a life raft and two years as a prisoner of war in Japan. Directed with complete respect by Angelina Jolie from a Coen Brothers’ script adapted from Laura Hillenbrand’s best-selling book, there is surprisingly little emotional impact from such an incredible story. Jolie has made a film to admire because of its heroic subject, but not one that honestly captures a character like Zamperini more than skin deep. 2.5 Stars
This article appears in The Year in Review.