When the colder weather arrives, we’re always looking for a respite from the chilly air and inclement weather that always hits Bloomsburg. When the time for strolling through town to grab some Big Chill comes to a close, the next best activity on a lazy Saturday afternoon can be heading to the movies. The end of the year always brings the release of films with some serious Oscar-buzz and movies that have high expectations for their box office appeal.
Whether you’re interested in a biopic about a scientist, another Hunger Games installment or just a good ole laugh out loud movie, here’s a selection of the movies coming out this fall and winter that will have you buying a ticket to the Digiplex.
The Theory of EverythingRelease date: November 7Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones
Inspired by the memoir Travelling to Infinity: My life with Stephen by Jane Hawking, The Theory of Everything tells the story of theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking’s time studying at Cambridge in the 1960s. He meets a literature student Jane Wilde, falls in love, begins to formulate his famous theories and is diagnosed with a motor neuron disease related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
While Hawking’s scientific discoveries may out of reach for many audience members, the love story that develops between Jane and Stephen seems universal to all of us. Redmayne has already received much critical acclaim for his role as Hawking so this is definitely going to be a film you’ll want to see when the Oscars roll around in February.
InterstellarRelease date: November 7Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain
Explorers and scientists discover a wormhole and unite to embark on a voyage through it, transcending the limits of human space travel. Matthew McConuaghey plays a widowed engineer who leaves his two children behind to find a way to save the Earth from destruction. Sounds awesome, right?
Lately, everything stars like McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain touch turns into box office gold, if not automatic Oscar contendors so this is another film that has all the star power needed to have a successful opening weekend.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1Release date: November 21Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson
The third installment of the Hunger Games series, Mockingjay picks up where Catching Fire left off – Katniss and her crew are in District 13 preparing to wage a war against the Captial. However, Katniss’ options are limited due to the Capital’s capture of Peeta.
As this series progresses, it seems as though each film’s budget gets bigger and bigger, meaning more awesome special effects and costumes so this is one movie you won’t want to wait to see until it comes out on Netflix or HBO. This is also one of the last films that the late Philip Seymour Hoffman worked on before his death so it will be really interesting to see how they handle any missing footage.
Horrible Bosses 2Release date: November 26Starring: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis
Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis play friends who all had absolutely terrible bosses who are finally able to get out from under their thumbs. In a new business venture, they team up to create a new product but their idea is stolen from them from the ever handsome Chris Pine. They seek help from Jamie Foxx’s character to get their money and idea back but things don’t really go as planned.
With cameos from Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Spacey, this sequel promises all the laughs the original had!
WildRelease date: December 5Starring: Reese Witherspoon
One of every collegiette’s favorite actresses Reese Witherspoon is back at it with this biopic about a woman who decides to hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail alone. After losing her mother, divorcing her husband and evaluating a lifetime’s worth of poor lifestyle choices, Cheryl Strayed (played by Witherspoon) decides to hike 1,100 miles in an attempt to heal herself after a tumultuous past.
Witherspoon pulls double duty on this film as adapted Strayed’s novel, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, and produced the film through her new production company Pacific Standard. Seriously, this has inspirational written all over it and you can bet we’ll be in the audience to see the remarkable story unfold.
Night at the Museum: Secret of the TombRelease date: December 19Starring: Robin Williams, Dan Stevens, Ben Stiller
This third and final installment of the Night at the Museum is on track to be just as magical, wonderful and even educational as the previous two films. The magic powers of The Tablet of Ahkmenrah – the tablet that allows all the creatures in the museum to come alive at night – begin to die out so Larry (Ben Stiller) must travel to London on an epic quest to save the magic before it is gone forever.
The movie brings together old characters such as Teddy Roosevelt with new characters such as Lancelot (played by Downton Abbey‘s Dan Stevens) and Larry’s British counterpart Rebel Wilson. On a sad note, this is Mickey Rooney’s final film as he died shortly after filming concluded and it’s also one of Robin William’s final movies as well.
We hope these movies get you excited for the fall and winter months and give you some fun weekend options when you just can’t bring yourself to head to Hardware in below 40 degree weather. See you at the movies, collegiettes!