This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As the fall turns to winter — though when the temperatures are in the 70s in the middle of November, who can tell anymore? — the movies tend to turn serious.
Chalk it up to Hollywood's hunt for that elusive quarry: Oscar gold.
Sure, there are plenty of Hollywood blockbusters coming out between now and year's end — most notably, the launch of J.K. Rowling's pre-Harry Potter "Fantastic Beasts" franchise (opening Friday, Nov. 18) and the first off-the-main-story "Star Wars" movie (Dec. 16). But many of the season's most-talked-about movies boast major performances, solid drama and looks at important issues.
Films go back in time to examine the fight to end laws against interracial marriage, the early days of NASA's space launches, Jesuits in 17th-century Japan, and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Natalie Portman will play Jackie Kennedy, Warren Beatty will play Howard Hughes, and Michael Keaton will play fast-food pioneer Ray Kroc.
Denzel Washington will tackle a classic of the American theatrical canon. Jessica Chastain will blow the lid off Washington lobbyists. Casey Affleck and Will Smith will play men coping with insurmountable grief. And Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling will dance their way into the hearts of each other and those in the audience.
What follows is a rundown of what's hitting Utah theaters in the final weeks of 2016, along with a few titles that will be in the awards-season mix that won't arrive in Utah until next year. (Release dates are tentative.)
Wednesday
"Allied" • An American spy (Brad Pitt) begins to suspect his lover, a French Resistance fighter (Marion Cotillard), might be working with the Nazis in director Robert Zemeckis' World War II romance/thriller.
"Bad Santa 2" • Billy Bob Thornton returns as Willie, the foul-mouthed red-suited con artist, working to knock over a charity at Christmas.
"The Eagle Huntress" • Daisy Ridley ("Star Wars: The Force Awakens") narrates this documentary, which follows a 13-year-old girl bucking centuries of tradition in her Kazakh tribe.
"Loving" • A sensitive telling of the case of Richard and Mildred Loving (Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga), an interracial couple in Virginia in 1958, when marriage between people of different races was illegal.
"Moana" • Hawaiian actress Auli'i Cravalho makes her movie debut in this Disney animated tale, giving voice to the daughter of a Polynesian chief who sails the ocean to find the source of darkness plaguing her island — with the reluctant aid of the demigod Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson).
"Nocturnal Animals" • In fashion designer-turned-filmmaker Tom Ford's thriller, Amy Adams stars as an art-gallery owner who fears a novel written by her ex-husband (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a revenge story and a veiled threat.
"Rules Don't Apply" • An ambitious driver (Alden Ehrenreich) and an innocent starlet (Lily Collins) get swept up in the orbit of the eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes (Warren Beatty, who wrote and directed).
Dec. 2
"Incarnate" • In this horror movie, a scientist (Aaron Eckhart) who can enter the subconscious minds of the possessed tackles his toughest case: an 11-year-old boy (David Mazouz) in the thrall of a powerful demon.
Dec. 9
"Manchester by the Sea" • Casey Affleck gives a much-buzzed-about performance in writer-director Kenneth Lonergan's drama as a man who returns to his small seaside hometown when his brother (Kyle Chandler) dies — and must take guardianship of his teen nephew (Lucas Hedges).
"Miss Sloane" • A take-no-prisoners D.C. lobbyist (Jessica Chastain) takes on the impossible task — getting a background-check bill passed past the gun lobby — in this slick political thriller.
"Office Christmas Party" • A branch manager (Jason Bateman), desperate to land a client to keep his CEO sister (Jennifer Aniston) from shutting down the branch, throws the holiday party to end all holiday parties in this raunchy comedy.
Dec. 16
"Collateral Beauty" • After a tragedy, an advertising executive (Will Smith) writes letters to Love, Time and Death — and gets unexpected responses — in this fantasy-tinged drama that also stars Keira Knightley, Kate Winslet, Edward Norton, Naomie Harris and Helen Mirren.
"La La Land" • An idealistic jazz pianist (Ryan Gosling) and a struggling actress (Emma Stone) meet and fall in love, dancing and singing across Los Angeles, in this musical throwback by filmmaker Damien Chazelle ("Whiplash").
"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" • The first movie set in the "Star Wars" universe not following a member of the Skywalker family shows the Rebellion's daring mission to steal the plans to the still-under-construction Death Star. Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Forrest Whittaker and Ben Mendelsohn star.
"The Space Between Us" • A teen (Asa Hutchinson) born in space and raised on Mars escapes to Earth to find his pen pal (Britt Robertson) in this sci-fi romance.
Dec. 21
"Assassin's Creed" • Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star in this action adventure, based on the video game, about a man in the future who explores the memories of his ancestor — a Master Assassin.
"Passengers" • Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt star in this sci-fi action romance as people awakened prematurely on a luxury space vessel.
"Patriot's Day" • Peter Berg ("Deepwater Horizon") directs this drama based on the events surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Mark Wahlberg and John Goodman lead the cast.
"Sing" • The makers of "Despicable Me" get musical with this animated tale of a koala theater impresario (voiced by Matthew McConaughey) who devises a singing competition to save his ailing theater.
Dec. 23
"Jackie" • Natalie Portman's performance as Jacqueline Kennedy, in the days before and after John Kennedy's assassination, is the drawing card for this drama by Chilean director Pablo Larrain ("No").
"Lion" • Dev Patel ("Slumdog Millionaire") stars in this drama, adapted from Larry Buttrose's novel, of an Indian-born man, adopted by an Australian couple as a child, who returns to India to find his birth family.
"Why Him?" • Bryan Cranston stars in this comedy as a dad who comes to loathe the wild-living tech billionaire (James Franco) engaged to his daughter (Zoey Deutch).
Dec. 25
"Fences" • Denzel Washington directs and stars with Viola Davis in this adaptation of August Wilson's play, as an African-American father trying to raise his family and deal with racial issues in the 1950s.
"Gold" • An out-of-luck prospector (Matthew McConaughey) and an eager geologist hunt for gold in Indonesia in this drama, inspired by a true story.
Jan. 6
"Hidden Figures" • Three female African-American mathematicians (Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monáe, Octavia Spencer) become the secret heroes of NASA's early space missions in this based-on-a-true-story drama.
"A Monster Calls" • In this fantasy drama by director J.A. Bayona ("The Impossible"), a boy (Lewis MacDougall) seeks help from a tree monster (voiced by Liam Neeson) when his mother (Felicity Jones) becomes ill.
"Silence" • Martin Scorsese directs this historical drama, set in 17th-century Japan, where two Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver) fend off anti-Western persecution and seek their missing mentor (Liam Neeson).
Jan. 13
"The Comedian" • Robert De Niro plays an aging insult comic in this comedy, which also stars Leslie Mann, Cloris Leachman and Harvey Keitel.
"Elle" • A businesswoman (Isabelle Huppert) tracks down her rapist in this French cat-and-mouse thriller, directed by Paul Verhoeven ("Basic Instinct").
"Live by Night" • Ben Affleck wrote, directs and stars in this gangster drama, set in the Prohibition era and based on a Dennis Lehane novel.
Feb. 17
"Toni Erdmann" • A prank-loving dad (Peter Simonischek) tries to reconnect with his serious daughter (Sandra Hüller) in this acclaimed comedy-drama from Germany.
Feb. 24
"The Red Turtle" • The life cycles of a castaway are depicted in this dialogue-free animated fantasy.
Date to be determined
"The Founder" • Michael Keaton plays Ray Kroc, the entrepreneur who turned a sleepy burger diner into the world's biggest fast-food chain: McDonald's.
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