THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE Released: December 8 Starring: Tilda Swinton, Georgie Henley, Liam Neeson The pitch: Here's one wardrobe you won't find in Ikea The plot: At last, one of the most beloved books of the 20th century makes it to the big screen. In this first of the chronicles (there are seven in total), the four Pevensie siblings are sent to a remote manor during world war two, under the watchful eye of an enigmatic professor. It would be a deathly dull experience, if the kids didn't discover a portal to the magical world of Narnia lurking with some mothballs in the back of a wardrobe. Realising battling a white witch (played by the incomparable Tilda Swinton), breaking the curse of eternal winter, and hanging out with Aslan, a lion messiah, is much more fun than hide and seek in a dusty old house, the kids head into the wardrobe to meet their
destiny.
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS Released: December 9 Starring: Lots of penguins, some nasty seals, Morgan Freeman (voice) The pitch: Love in a cold climate The plot: OK, it's a nature documentary. No, don't fall asleep. This is a blockbusting nature documentary that ruled the American box office this summer. Four French filmmakers took headed to Antarctica for 14 months to film one of nature's most impressive stories. Every year emperor penguins march across the south pole in single file to find a mate and breed. Sadly it's not as simple as speed dating, and slightly more dangerous. Hungry leopard seals, treacherous terrain, not to mention the deadly weather all stand between the animals and some penguin lovin'. But compared to King Kong, this should be the most heartwarming, tear-jerking film of the festive period.
KING KONG Released: December 15 Starring: Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black The pitch: Go ape The plot: Or "Peter Jackson's King Kong" to give it its full title. So powerful is the Lord Of The Rings director, he can now take ownership of one of cinema's most beloved and powerful tales of what happens when an ape meets the girl of his dreams. Jack Black plays an over-zealous film director in the 1930s who sets sail for Skull Island with his leading lady (Naomi Watts) and script writer (Adrien Brody) to make his masterpiece about the legend of a giant gorilla, Kong. But when they arrive they discover Kong is more than a myth, and Skull Island is home to some very hungry dinosaurs too. Cue lots of humans being chased, getting eaten in inventive ways, and culminating with a tearful climax at the top of the Empire State Building. So, a cross between Jurassic Park and Sleepless In Seattle then.
JUST LIKE HEAVEN Released: December 30 Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo The pitch: So haunt me The plot: How cute is Reese Witherspoon? We don't mean this in an ogling, lads-mag kind of way, more that she looks like the creation of an overactive Disney animator, all big eyes and perky demeanour. She is to Hollywood what doe-eyed kittens are to the animal kingdom. And cutesy movies, such as Just Like Heaven, help cement her place. She plays a doctor who ends up in a coma following a car crash. But her spirit is still able to float about and returns to her old apartment, now occupied by widower Mark Ruffalo. Conveniently, only he can see or hear her. What initially starts of as horror at being hauntted, quickly turns into affection and inevitably love. But can Ruffalo bring Witherspoon out of her coma? What do you think? Just Like Heaven may be predictable, but it promises to be as
likable as its lead actors.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article