For every piece of high-fiber movie-awards fodder soon to hit theaters — Jackie, Nocturnal Animals, Fences, et al. — there is its opposite, if not its aesthetic equal. (Bad Santa 2, anyone?)
Yes, we are now entering that time of year when the contrast will never be starker between the movies that you have to see (at least if you want to enter the office Oscar pool) and the movies that you want to see (that is, if you want to know what everyone is taking about at the water cooler on Monday).
How about a few that are actually worth seeing?
We scanned this holiday season’s movie offerings for recommendations. Some we’ve seen already, some we’ve read about and some we’ve simply made our best educated guess on, based on provenance (that’s a fancy word for backstory). In each of six genres — drama, romance, comedy, sci-fi, thriller and family — we’ve come up with two smart choices that represent the twin poles of holiday moviegoing: cinephilia and popcorn populism.
(Release dates and ratings are subject to change.)
Manchester by the Sea
Cast: Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Michelle Williams
Elite pedigree: At once wrenching and nuanced, the latest drama from perfectionist writer-director Kenneth Lonergan (Margaret) explores the relationship between a man haunted by his past (Affleck) and his newly fatherless teenage nephew (Hedges). (Nov. 25, R)
Bleed for This
Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Ciaran Hinds, Miles Teller
Everyman appeal: Featuring a strong central performance by Teller, this gritty Rocky-esque biopic is based on the true story of Rhode Island boxer Vinny Paz (formerly Pazienza), who came back from a devastating spinal cord injury to defeat Roberto Duran for the International Boxing Council’s super middleweight title. (Nov. 18, R)
La La Land
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone
Elite pedigree: A love story about a struggling actress (Stone) and a musician (Gosling) in Tinseltown, filmmaker Damien Chazelle’s daring, dazzling musical follow-up to his Academy Award-winning Whiplash has been described as a “love letter to old-school Hollywood.” (Dec. 16, PG-13)
Passengers
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt
Everyman appeal: It may be set in deep space, where a writer (Lawrence) and an engineer (Pratt) wake up early from hibernation — alone out of more than 5,000 slumbering passengers — and find themselves falling in love. But who better to play out this far-fetched fantasy than our two most grounded movie stars? (Dec. 21, PG-13)
The Edge of Seventeen
Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson
Elite pedigree: Unfolding, as Indiewire put it, “like a symphony of small humiliations,” the darkly funny directorial debut of Kelly Fremon Craig pairs Steinfeld, as a relatable, angsty, mildly despairing high schooler, with Harrelson, as her acerbic teacher and reluctant mentor. (Nov. 18, R)
Office Christmas Party
Cast: Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Kate McKinnon, T.J. Miller
Everyman appeal: The familiar party-out-of-bounds premise not only boasts the reunion of Aniston and Bateman (Horrible Bosses) but also is brought to you courtesy of Blades of Glory directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck. Let the debauchery — and dumb jokes — begin. (Dec. 9, not yet rated)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Colin Farrell, Ezra Miller
Elite pedigree: Academy Award winner Redmayne plays Newt Scamander, the author of the titular field guide to monsters, used as a textbook in the Harry Potter books. J.K. Rowling wrote the screenplay to this 1920s-set prequel, which follows Redmayne’s cryptozoologist from England to New York City. David Yates, who put his stamp, impeccably, on the last four Potter films, returns to the director’s chair. (Nov. 18, PG-13)
Sing
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Taron Egerton, Scarlett Johansson
Everyman appeal: McConaughey voices a koala impresario in this animated tale of fantastic beasts of another sort: i.e., the kind that aspire to warble, croon and belt out pop ditties in an American Idol-style competition. (Dec. 21, PG)