This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Once you've unwrapped all the presents, and the kids have broken all the toys, the movie theaters will be waiting for you with six new films opening on Christmas Day.
The most talked-about, probably, is Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street," which is decidedly not a family experience. Scorsese's success-meets-excess comic tale of real-life stock tycoon Jordan Belfort (fiercely played by Leonardo DiCaprio) stretches the boundaries of the R rating, with copious quantities of cocaine, Quaaludes and naked hookers and party girls. It's fascinating for a while, but after three hours with no satisfactory conclusion, it's a bit brusing.
Another biography, "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," tells of a much different life: That of South African leader and icon Nelson Mandela. Idris Elba gives a powerful performance as Mandela, but his most passionate scenes are in the movie's first half, as a young Mandela grows from lawyer to protest leader to underground fugitive. Naomie Harris co-stars as Winnie Mandela, whose radicalization during her husband's imprisonment is a major thread of the story.
Ben Stiller directs and stars in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," a long-awaited adaptation of James Thurber's beloved short story. Stiller plays Walter, a mild-mannered photo processor at Life magazine, whose daydreams are more adventurous than he is. But when the magazine is on the verge of closing, Walter takes a chance to travel the world to find a danger-seeking photographer (Sean Penn). The daydream sequences are the movie's best feature, hilarious flights of fancy that precede the sentimental conclusion.
Sentimentality is all over "Grudge Match," an awful comedy that pairs up Sylvester Stallone and Robert DeNiro as aging boxers persuaded to face off in the ring again, 30 years after their prime. Aside from defiling our memories of the actors in "Rocky" and "Raging Bull," the movie is just painfully unfunny.
Two more movies open on Christmas Day, but neither were screened for Utah critics: "47 Ronin," a samurai action movie starring Keanu Reeves; and "Justin Bieber's Believe," a concert movie featuring the singing star. ["The Wolf of Wall Street,"](http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment2/57292612-223/belfort-street-wall-wolf.html.csp)|
["Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,"](http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment2/57292615-223/mandela-movie-african-south.html.csp)|
["The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,"](http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment2/57292609-223/walter-stiller-com-mitty.html.csp)|